English language pedagogy

I. Implication of English Language Learning Theories

Duration: 1 hr

Objectives: Participants will be aware of different aspects of SLA.

Procedure: Various aspects of SLA will be discussed through ppt. presentation and discussion.

Input

Second Language Acquisition

SLA is a scholarly field of investigation that attempts to study the ability of human being to learn language other than the mother tongue either at the stage of childhood, adolescence or adulthood. The SLA began in the late 1960s emerged as an interdisciplinary enterprise. It borrowed observations and views from language teaching, linguistics, child language acquisition and psychology.

In most part of the world, children grow up in a monolingual set up. The field of study that studies these cases of monolingual language acquisition is known as child language acquisition and first language acquisition. The research tells that, in a monolingual context, within 18 months and 3-4 years of age, children learn a bulk of language. During the first years, learners learn two – word utterance and exponential vocabulary. Third year he/she learns syntactic and morphological usage. More pragmatic and syntactic phenomenon are learnt by 5- 7 years.

The Role of the First Language

There is a belief that the influence of S1 over S2 is negative and the entire process of SLA is overcoming this intrusion. Dulay and Burt ( 1973) tried to find the kind of errors among the Spanish- speaking children and they proclaimed that, “children do not organise a L2 on the basis of transfer or comparison with their L1, but rely on their ability to construct the L2 as an independent system, in much the same way as in L1 acquisition. They suggested that interference may be a major factor only in phonology.” Their finding showed that only 3% of learner’s errors were due to interference.

Role of Individual Learning Variables in SLA

Another important aspect to be introspected regarding the SLA is the individual learning variables which comprises of- the difference in age, learning style, aptitude, motivation, and personality. The research to be done in these factors is to examine whether these factors affect the route that the learner takes in the process of SAL and the rate and the final success of SLA. The evidences show that, age, motivation and personality substantially affects the learning rate and the learning outcome.

Input, Interaction and Intake

Input, interaction and intake are the other important aspects on Second Language Acquisition. Input refers to the language the learner gets addressed to either by the native speaker or by another L2 speaker. The interaction is the conversation between the learner and the interlocutors. The learner does not receive all the inputs of the interaction either because he/she fails to understand or is not interested. This chunk of information processed or ‘let in’ by the learner is referred to as intake.

Motherese.

Empirical research on mother’s speech and L1 acquisition shows that it contains ungrammatical utterance and fragmentary sentences. This speech contains, high level of redundancy, adjustment of pronunciation and the tuning of mothers pitch, rhythm and intonation as that of the child. All these constitute a special use of language called motherese.

Regarding the influence of motherese to the route and rate of language acquisition, the available evidences show that, the route of SLA does not change with the difference of the linguistic environment however, the rate of SLA Cross (1977; 1978), Ellis and Wells (9180) and Barnes ( 1983) state that the way the mother talks to her child has a significant influence on how rapidly the child acquires the language.

Teacher Talk

Regarding the Teacher Talk in the classroom, the exchanges are mostly categorized into three- phase- viz. the teacher imitates, the pupil responds, and the teacher supplies feedback known as IRF. D’Angelejan ( 1978) noted that the communication involved in the teaching of language in the classroom rarely corresponded to the natural communication outside. Such restricted input limited chances for negotiation of meaning. However, rather than treating the natural and the classroom environment as separate entities, they should be treated as, environments where same discourse types are practiced but at different degrees.

Role of Formal instructions in SLA

Krashen proposes two kinds of knowledge ‘learning’ (explicit knowledge) and ‘acquisition’( implicit knowledge). He states that, ‘acquisition’ influences the natural sequence of SLA whereas ‘learning’ does not affect it. Krashen concludes that, formal instruction would be beneficial in acquisition-poor environment; it would not be of little significance in an acquisition rich environment.

II Trends in English Language Teaching

Duration: 1 hour

Objectives: Participants will be aware of different trends in ELT

Procedure: Various aspects of trends in ELT will be discussed through ppt. presentation and discussion.

Input

The Monitor model :Monitor model consists of five hypothesis. Viz.

The Acquisition Learning Hypothesis:

‘Acquisition’ is the subconscious way of learning the language where the focus is on meaning. The learner is not aware of the fact that he/ she is acquiring the language. Research strongly supports the view that both adults and children can acquire both spoken and written language. Acquisition means ‘picking up’ the language.

‘Learning’ is the conscious formal study of the language. The language “rules” “grammar”“vocabulary” that we learnt at school is part of learning. The error correction is supposed to help learning.

The Monitor Hypothesis:

The consciously learnt language is used to monitor or edit our utterance. Most of the languages we speak fluently are acquired and the grammar we learnt at school helps us to monitor our language. The learner uses the ‘learnt’ knowledge to edit the wrong utterances imbibed through the ‘acquired’ knowledge. This is possible especially in three conditions viz. when the learner has 1)sufficient time, 2)the focus is on form than meaning, 3) the learner is aware of the rules.

The Input/ Comprehensive Hypothesis:

Comprehensive hypothesis is the masterpiece of language acquisition. It tries to answer the question, “How do we acquire the language?” The answer to this is when we understand what is said and what we read. Two important facts of language acquisition are: 1) The learning of language is effortless. It requires no energy or hard work. All that is important is to understand the message. 2) The learning of language is involuntary. Once we get the comprehensible input, we have no other way but to acquire the language.

The Affective Filter Hypothesis:

As proposed by Dulay and Butt ( 1977), Krashen states that the affective filters like, motivation, self-confidence, anxiety determine how much of input would be converted to intake. It the learners are motivated, confident and less anxious they receive plenty of input but if they lack these qualities, they receive less and there by absorb less. These filters do not affect language acquisition directly but they prevent the input from reaching the “Language Acquisition Device”.

Social Dimensions of L2 learning

The radical reorientation to the role of social dimensions in SLA draws its inspiration from social- constructivist, socio-cultural and poststructuralist theories. Social Constructivism tells that reality is not given naturally; it is not present outside to be captured by the individual mind. Instead, reality is to be created by human agents and social groups. Social-culturalism goes beyond social constructivism which says that “reality is not a matter of interpretive construction but that it is also radically collective and social, appropriated and transformed through relational knowledge.”Ortega,(2011).

Vygotskian Sociocultural Theory in SLA

Vygotskian sociocultural theory states that, ‘consciousness has its basis in human capacity to use symbols as tools.’ Ortega,(2011). The physical and the symbolic tools regulate the mental activity. By using these tools men can change reality, the use of these tools changes them too. Language is a tool that creates thoughts, however it transforms thoughts too. It is a source of learning.

Social Learning in the Zone of Proximal Development.

Vygotskians view language as social: ‘the source of development resides in the environment rather than in the individual’ ( Lantolf, 2006a, p.726).

Learning or developmental is encompassed on an important Vygotiskian construct of the Zone of Proximal Development ( ZPD) it refers to the distance between what the learner can do in L2 when assisted by someone to what she/he can achieve alone. Wells (1999) states that the ZPD is not a fixed property of an individual, but instead it ‘constitutes a potential for learning that is created in the interaction between participants in particular settings and therefore must be seen as ‘emergent’, because the ongoing interaction during joint activity can open unforeseen new potential for learning.’(p.249). ZPD potential can be emerged both from the teachers and the peers.

Sense of Self is Social: Identity Theory

According to this theory, identities are socially constructed and situated always ‘dynamic, contradictory, and constantly changing across time and. The most influential model of second language identity theory is that of concept of investment, formulated by Norton. (Norton Peirce, 1995; Norton, 2000). According to this theory, ‘ if learners invest in a second language, they do so with the understanding that they will acquire a wider range of symbolic and material resources, which will in turn increase the value of their cultural capital’ ( Norton Peirce, 1995, p.17). The investment that the learner makes in learning of a language is based on his/ her identities, his/her desires and the changing social world and these three determine the structuring of investment in L2 at different contexts and times.

Other Theories of Second Language Acquisition.

The Acculturation Model

The Acculturation Model, defined by Brown (1980a: 129) as ‘the process of becoming adapted to a new culture’ Culture is an important aspect as language reflects ones culture. Acquisition of a new language helps the learner of the target language and the second language to view each other’s culture. Acculturation is determined by the social and the psychological distance. The more social and psychological distance between the second language learner and the target language group the longer it takes for acculturation.

Second Language acquisition is just one aspect of acculturation and the degree to which a learner acculturates to the target- language group will control the degree to which he requires the second language (Schumann ,1978b).

Discourse Theory:

This theory ascertains that through interaction and communication the learner discovers meaningful features of a language. Halliday (1975) shows that it is through interpersonal use of the language, the formal linguistic rules for performing basic language functions develop. Cherry ( 1979:22) says:Through communicating with the other people, children accomplish actions in the world and develop the rules of language structure and use.

Cognitive theory:

According to Cognitive theorist, second language acquisition is considered to be acquiring of complex cognitive skills. Learning of the language is considered to be learning of a skill as various aspects of the language need to be practiced for a smooth performance. Thus requires automatization of subskills.

Constructivism

The traditional methods of teaching are based on objectivist view of knowledge. In objectivist paradigm, the teacher transmits knowledge to the learners who are considered as passive receivers of knowledge. In contrast, the constructivist paradigm is based on the assumption that knowledge is subjective and learners construct knowledge in the social and cultural environment in which they are embedded.

in 1978, Driver and Easley believed that learners construct knowledge on the basis of their prior knowledge and personal experience. The empirical data on the studies ‘how children construct knowledge’ and ‘how teacher can provide interventions to help children their own concepts’ show that when individuals encounter new information, they use their own prior knowledge and personal experience to make sense of the new material.

Critical thinking

CT is that mode of thinking about any subject, content, or problem in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking by being unbiased. CT is not the same as disagreement; does not aim to embarrass or humiliate; does not entail nitpickin; applied to the beliefs and positions of others but also to our own.

'''III. Teaching of a poem'''

Objectives: Teachers will be aware of the ways of integrating language theories into practice.

Demo Lesson

Integrating some of the trends like, constructivism, critical thinking, culture in language teaching, Multilingualism, Identity theory, Discourse theory etc, a poem selected from one of the textbooks will be taught.

IV Learning outcomes Primary School

Objectives: The teachers will understand the significance of learning outcomes and frame a few teaching and practice activities.

Framing activities:

After the learning outcomes are discussed, the participants will be provided with the samples of activities based on the learning outcomes and allotting one to each they will be guided to design activities.

Learning outcomes link.

https://www.mhrd.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/Learning_outcomes.pdf

V Characteristics of Young Learners

Objectives: The participants will understand young learner’s psychology and deal with them accordingly.

Procedure:

The participants will share their understanding of the learner’s psychology, later various facets of learner’s psychology and its implications will be discussed.

Characteristics of Young Learners


 * 1) Young	learners are interested in themselves, their families, food, pet	animals, toys and their immediate environment. These interests help	us plan topics and activities to motivate and engage them.
 * 2) Working	with young children is demanding. We need to plan lots of	activities, use lots of resources and ideas to match their interests	and short attention span.
 * 3) Use	plays, games, rhymes and songs, funny poems, etc. to motivate and	engage young children.
 * 4) Provide	opportunities to move, stretch, turn around – have outdoor	activities, visit shops, parks, and other places
 * 5) Learning	to learn – looking at their own progress – we can ask the child	to draw a ‘smiling’ face if he/she is happy with his/her work	that day.
 * 6) Literacy	– show them words in English which they can recognize (signs,	labels, wrappers).
 * 7) Caretaker	talk – model the correct form, extend their utterance, and try to	understand the content/meaning of what they say. Avoid using high	sounding, abstract, complex words and sentences.
 * 8) Have	classroom routines – greetings, goodbye songs – using the simple	and the same language daily.
 * 9) Art	and craft – music, dance, drama, painting, drawing, etc.

“Learning doesn’t take place in isolation from the kids’ feelings’ (Goleman, 1996)

A good motto to remember ‘ We are teaching young children, not English’


 * 1) Spiral	curriculum – opportunities to revisit the topics/themes, recycle	language in interesting and meaningful contexts
 * 2) Encourage	them to ask questions in school too!

For further reading.

ECCE: National Early Childhood Care and Education Curriculum framework

https://wcd.nic.in/sites/default/files/national_ecce_curr_framework_final_03022014%20%282%29.pdf

Assignment:

Preparation of lesson plan for one of the lessons taken from the textbooks by integrating various theories and practices discussed above.