Post on 25-Jun-2020
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Dossier module V
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Module V
December 2017
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INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................ 3
READING 1
I. Product-oriented syllabuses ................................................................................................................... 4
II. Process-oriented syllabuses ................................................................................................................ 14
READING 2
Conversationally speaking: approaches to the teaching of conversation ............................... 32
READING 3
Speaking Towards Autonomy ................................................................................................................... 48
READING 4
Making lessons interesting, meaningful and memorable .............................................................. 66
REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................................... 76
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We are happy to introduce the module "Approaches to the Teaching of Conversation”,
the fifth of eight modules which aims at continuing the training of the English
Specialists in Language Teaching. This Module will provide theoretical foundation to
the teaching of Speaking and deepening on the nature of conversation to help and
empower students to communicate what they mean. This training will allow you to
master four key competences related to language teaching and learning: Didactics,
Communication, Training and Self-Training as well as the incorporation of
technologies in the classroom.
The content in this module adds on to the theory presented in module 4; Planning
using the Task based framework and the Content-based approach. Module 5 deepens
on different types of syllabuses, the nature of conversation, developing conversational
autonomy as foreign language learners and incorporating meaningful ICT lessons into
daily language instruction. Therefore, it is strongly encouraged that specialists commit
to apply their expanding knowledge and skills into their daily practice, thus
contributing with contextualized applications of the theory to a Salvadoran context in
order to improve language learning experiences.
This dossier will be a companion to participants during their training to provide
indispensable information in the following areas. The first reading takes us through
product-oriented and process-oriented syllabuses, thus exploring the nature and
providing applicable exercises of the most recognized English teaching approaches
and methods. Reading two explores approaches to the teaching of conversational
skills; the nature and the purpose of conversations. Reading 3 walks us through the
process towards developing speaking autonomy, providing criteria for speaking tasks,
feedback and correction, presentations and talks, etcetera, becoming a teacher’s
handbook to create and find opportunities for classroom and out-of-the-classroom
interactions. Finally, reading 4 presents us with practical ways to making ICT lessons
more interesting and fun.
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I. Product-oriented syllabuses
1. Introduction
There is a distinction between product-oriented and process-oriented syllabuses. Product
syllabuses are those in which the focus is on the knowledge and skills which learners should gain
as a result of instruction, while process syllabuses are those which focus on the learning
experiences themselves.
We shall look at syllabus proposals that are specified in terms of the end products of a course
of instruction. As we shall see, these may be realized in a variety of ways, for example as lists of
grammatical items, vocabulary items, language functions, or experiential content.
2. Analytic and synthetic syllabus planning
There are many different ways in which syllabus proposals of one sort or another might be
analyzed. One dimension of analysis which has been the subject of a great deal of discussion and
comment is the synthetic/analytic dimension.
It was Wilkins (1976) who first drew attention to the distinction between synthetic and
analytic syllabuses. He described the synthetic approach in the following terms:
A synthetic language teaching strategy is one in which the different parts of language are taught
separately and step by step so that acquisition is a process of gradual accumulation of parts until the
whole structure of language has been built up.
(Wilkins 1976: 2)
TASK 1 In his work, Wilkins assumes that grammatical criteria will be used to break the global language down
into discrete units. The items will be graded according to the grammatical complexity of the items,
their frequency of occurrence, their contrastive difficulty in relation to the learner's first language,
situational need, and pedagogic convenience.
Do you think that grammar is the only criterion for selecting and grading content in a synthetic
syllabus?
If not, what other criteria can you suggest for selecting and grading content?
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Initially, people tended to equate synthetic approaches with grammatical syllabuses. However
some applied linguists feel that the term 'synthetic' need not necessarily be restricted to
grammatical syllabuses, but may be applied to any syllabus in which the content is product-
oriented; that is, which is specified as discrete lists of grammatical items and in which the classroom
focus is on the teaching of these items as separate and discrete (see, for example, Widdowson
1979). (Note that in this book, the terms 'grammatical' and 'structural' are used interchangeably.)
In contrast with synthetic syllabuses, analytic syllabuses:
are organized in terms of the purposes for which people are learning language and the kinds of
language performance that are necessary to meet those purposes.
(Wilkins 1975: 13)
In an analytic syllabus, learners are presented with chunks of language which may include
structures of varying degrees of difficulty. The starting point for syllabus design is not the
grammatical system of the language, but the communicative purposes for which language is used.
It is theoretically possible to conceive of language courses as being solely synthetic or solely
analytic. However, it is likely that, in practice, courses will be typified as more-or-less synthetic or
more-or-less analytic according to the prominence given to discrete elements in the selection and
grading of input.
3. Grammatical syllabuses
The most common syllabus type was, and probably still is, one in which syllabus input is selected
and graded according to grammatical notions of simplicity and complexity. Later we shall see that
grammatical complexity does not necessarily equate with learning difficulty. In other words, what
is grammatically complex will not necessarily be that which is difficult to learn, and that which is
grammatically simple will not necessarily be that which is easy to learn.
The most rigid grammatical syllabuses supposedly introduced one item at a time and
required mastery of that item before moving on to the next. According to McDonough:
The transition from lesson to lesson is intended to enable material in one lesson to prepare the ground
for the next; and conversely for material in the next to appear to grow out of the previous one.
(McDonough 1981: 21)
McDonough illustrates this point as follows:
Lesson (l) has drilled copula and adjective combinations:
She is happy
Lesson (m) introduces the -ing form:
She is driving a car
Lesson (n) reintroduces existential there:
There is a man standing near the car
Lesson (o) distinguishes between mass and count nouns:
There are some oranges and some cheese on the table
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Lesson (p) introduces the verbs like and want:
I like oranges but not cheese
Lesson (q) reintroduces don't previously known in negative imperatives:
I don't like cheese
Lesson (r) introduces verbs with stative meaning:
I don't come from Newcastle
Lesson (s) introduces adverbs of habit and thus the present simple tense; or rather, present tense in
simple aspect:
I usually come at six o'clock
(McDonough 1981: 21)
TASK 2 As we have already noted, all syllabus outlines or proposals are underpinned by assumptions about
the nature of language and language learning.
What assumptions about language and language learning do you imagine might underpin a
grammatical syllabus of the type described above?
The assumption behind most grammatical syllabuses seems to be that language consists of a finite
set of rules which can be combined in various ways to make meaning. It is further assumed that
these rules can be learned one by one, in an additive fashion, each item being mastered on its own
before being incorporated into the learner's pre-existing stock of knowledge. The principal
purpose of language teaching is to help learners to 'crack the code'. Rutherford (1987) calls this
the 'accumulated entities' view of language learning.
Assumptions are also made about language transfer. It is generally assumed that once
learners have internalized the formal aspects of a given piece of language, they will automatically
be able to use it in genuine communication outside the classroom.
One of the difficulties in designing grammatical 'chains' in which discrete grammatical items
are linked is that the links can be rather tenuous. It is also difficult to isolate and present one
discrete item at a time, particularly if one wants to provide some sort of context for the language.
In addition, evidence from second language acquisition (SLA) research suggests that learning does
not occur in this simple additive fashion.
The dilemma for the syllabus designer who is attempting to follow some sort of structural
progression in sequencing input is this: How does one control input and yet at the same time
provide language samples for the learner to work on which bear some semblance at least to the
sort of language the learner will encounter outside the classroom?
This problem might be addressed in a number of ways. One solution would be to abandon
any attempt at structural grading. Another might be to use the list of graded structures, not to
determine the language to which learners are exposed, but to determine the items which will be
the pedagogic focus in class. In other words, learners would be exposed to naturalistic samples of
text which were only roughly graded, and which provided a richer context, but they would only be
expected formally to master those items which had been isolated, graded, and set out in the
syllabus. Another alternative, and one we shall look at in detail in 4, is to focus on what learners
are expected to do with the language (i.e. learning tasks), rather than on the language itself. With
this alternative, it is the tasks rather than the language which are graded.
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TASK 3 At this stage, you might like to consider the different suggestions above and rank them from most to
least satisfactory.
Can you think of any other ways of addressing the problem of controlling input while at the same
time using 'naturalistic' language?
4. Criticizing grammatical syllabuses
During the 1970s, the use of structural syllabuses carne under increasing criticism. ln this section
we shall look at some of these criticisms.
One early criticism was that structurally-graded syllabuses misrepresented the nature of that
complex phenomenon, language. They did so in tending to focus on only one aspect of language,
that is, formal grammar. In reality, there is more than one aspect to language as we shall see in 3.5.
TASK 4 Many structurally-graded course books begin with the structure: 'demonstrative + be + NP' as
exemplified by the statement: ·This is a book'.
How many different communicative purposes can you think of for this statement?
The most obvious purpose is that of identifying. This function is much more likely to occur in
classrooms (including language classrooms), where learning the names of new entities is an
important part of the curriculum, than in the real world. Other functions might include contradicting
('It may look like a video, but in fact it's a book'), expressing surprise ('This is a book? - Looks like a
video to me!'), or threatening ('This is a book, and your name will go in it if you don't behave!'). The
list could go on.
Matters are complicated, not only by the fact that language fulfils a variety of communicative
functions, but that there is no one-to-one relationship between form and function. Not only can a
single form realize more than one function, but also a given function can be realized by more than
one form (see Cook: Discourse published in this Scheme).
TASK 5 Can you think of examples of a single structure fulfilling several functions and a single function being
fulfilled by several structures?
In Tables 1 and 2, you will find examples of the lack of fit between form and function. In Table 2 a
single form realizes a variety of functions, whereas in Table 2 a single function is being realized by
a variety of forms.
Form Functions Gloss
The cliffs are over there Directions That's the way to the scenic view.
Warning Be careful of the cliffs!
Suggestion How about a walk along the cliff top?
Table 1
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Function Forms
Request May I have a drink, please?
Thirsty weather, this.
Looks like an interesting wine.
I’m dying for a drink.
Is that a bottle of champagne?
Table 2
TASK 6 What are the implications for syllabus design of this lack of any predetermined relationship between
form and function?
The wider view of language, focusing not only on linguistic structures, but also on the
communicative purposes for which language is used, developed from insights provided by
philosophers of language, sociolinguists, and from other language-related disciplines. The
immediate reaction to such a wider view is to contemplate ways of incorporating it into the
language syllabus. Unfortunately, the form/function disjunction makes the process of syllabus
design much more complex than it would have been had there been a neat one-to-one
form/function relationship. We shall look at the practical difficulties of incorporating formal and
functional elements into syllabus design in Section II.
In recent years, criticism of grammatical syllabuses has come from researchers in the field of
SLA. Some of the questions addressed by SLA researchers of interest to syllabus planners are as
follows:
• Why do learners at a particular stage fail to learn certain grammatical items which have
been explicitly (and often repeatedly) taught?
• Can syllabus items be sequenced to make them easier to learn?
• What learning activities appear to promote acquisition?
• Is there any evidence that teaching does, in fact, result in learning?
TASK 7 Two important SLA studies carried out during the 1970s were those by Dulay and Burt (1973) and
Bailey, Madden, and Krashen (1974). These studies showed that certain grammatical items seemed to
be acquired in a particular order, that this order was similar for children and adults, and for learners
from different language backgrounds. It also appeared that formal instruction had no effect on the
order of acquisition.
What do you think are the implications for syllabus design of the notion that structures are acquired
in a predetermined order?
One SLA researcher has this to say on the implications of the research for syllabus design:
Assuming the existence of stages of development, a logical step for syllabus design might seem to
be writing these stages directly into a new syllabus. [i.e. ordering the syllabus in the same order in
which items occur in the learners' repertoire.] On the other hand, if learners pass through
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developmental stages in a fixed sequence, then it might seem equally logical to disregard the question
of how the syllabus is written - at least as regards structure - since learners will organize this aspect
of learning for themselves.
(Johnston 1985: 29)
In other words, assuming that learners do have their own 'inbuilt syllabus', we could argue that
the teaching syllabus should reflect this order. On the other hand, we could simply forget about
grading the syllabus structurally, because this aspect of language development will automatically
be taken care of.
Johnston argues that decisions on whether syllabuses should be sequenced or not can only
be settled one way or another by more research into the relative effects of structurally-graded and
non-structurally-graded syllabuses. The difficulty for syllabus planners is that they often have to
make decisions before the relevant research has been carried out.
Research by Pienemann and Johnston (reported in Pienemann 1985; Johnston 1985; and
Pienemann and Johnston 1987) has led them to conclude that the acquisition of grammatical
structures will be determined by how difficult those items are to process psycholinguistically,
rather than how simple or complex they are grammatically. They illustrate this with the third person
's' morpheme. Grammatically, this is a fairly straightforward item, which can be characterized as
follows: In simple present third person singular statements, add 's/es' to the end of the verb. For
example, 'I sometimes go to Spain for my holidays' becomes 'He sometimes goes to Spain for his
holidays'. However, this simple grammatical rule is notoriously difficult for learners to master.
Pienemann and Johnston suggest that the difficulty is created for the learner by the fact that the
form of the verb is governed or determined by the person and number of the noun or noun phrase
in the subject position. In effect, the learner has to hold this person and number in working
memory and then produce the appropriate form of the verb. Thus the difficulty is created, not by
the grammar, but by the constraints of short-term memory.
Pienemann and Johnston use their speech-processing theory to explain the order in which
grammatical items are acquired. They suggest that structures will be acquired in the following
stages:
Stage 1
Single words and formulae.
Stage 2
Canonical or 'standard' word order, e.g. for English, Subject + Verb +Object.
Stage 3
Initialization/finalization. Final elements can be moved into initial position or vice versa, e.g.
words such as adverbs can be added to the beginning or end of clauses.
Stage 4
Semi-internal permutation. Internal elements can be moved to initial or final position, e.g.
words can be moved from inside the clause to the beginning or end of the clause.
Stage 5
Fully internal permutation. Items can be moved about within a clause.
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In Section Two, we shall look at the implications of this hypothesis for syllabus design, and
compare the ordering of grammatical elements proposed by Pienemann and Johnston with
those of some recently published course books.
There are a number of complications which arise when we attempt to apply SLA research to
syllabus design. In the first place, much of this work assumes that we shall start out with groups of
learners who are at the same stage of grammatical proficiency, and that learners in a given group
will all progress uniformly. Unfortunately these assumptions are not borne out in practice. Another
problem which occurs in second language contexts is that learners need to use certain language
structures (such as wh questions) almost immediately. These need to be taught as memorized
'formulae' even though they are well beyond the learner's current stage of development. Finally,
learners may need exposure to grammatical items in different contexts and over an extended
period of time rather than simply at the point when the items become 'learnable'.
In a·ddition.to these arguments, there are the general arguments against grammatical
grading of content (whether this grading be based on traditional criteria or more recent criteria
stemming from SLA research), on the grounds that grammatical grading distorts the language
available to the learner. It could well interfere with language acquisition which is more a global
than a linear process, different aspects of grammar developing simultaneously rather than one
structure being mastered at a time. The arguments against grammatically structured syllabuses
are summarized by Long (1987).
At this point in time, then, the direct application of SLA research to syllabus design is rather
limited. While the research has shown that the learner's syllabus and the syllabus of the textbook
or language programme may not be in harmony, in order to determine its applicability we must
wait until the results of follow-up research become available.
In a recent excellent analysis of the status of grammar in the curriculum, Rutherford (1987)
suggests that the abandonment of grammar as the pivotal element in the syllabus may be
premature. He argues that:
The critical need for making these [target language] data available to the learner therefore places a
special burden upon the language curriculum and, by extension, the language syllabus.
(Rutherford 1987: 150)
In Rutherford's view, the learner needs direct contact with the target language. We know that it is
neither necessary nor possible to provide learners with exposure to all target language
constructions, and that a major task for syllabus designers is to identify those aspects of the
grammatical system from which learners can generate the most powerful generalizations. These
structure must be made available to the learner at the appropriate time (a problem given the fact
that learners will usually be at different stages of 'readiness’ and using appropriate pedagogic
instruments. In effect, what he is arguing for is a view of grammar as a process rather than grammar
as a product. In other words, grammar learning should not be seen as the memorization of sets of
grammatical items, but as the raising to consciousness in the learner of the ways grammatical and
discourse processes operate and interact in the target language.
At this point, the view of grammar as process may seem rather abstract.
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5. Functional-notional syllabuses
The broader view of language provided by philosophers of language and sociolinguists was taken
up during the 1970s by those involved in language teaching, and began to be reflected in
syllabuses and course books. This is not to say that functional and situational aspects of language
use did not exist in earlier syllabuses, but that for the first time there was a large-·scale attempt to
incorporate this broader view of language systematically into the language syllabus. In particular,
it gave rise to what became known as functional-notional syllabus design.
Many teachers, on first encountering the terms ‘function’ and ·’notion’ find them confusing.
In general, functions may be described as the communicative purposes for which we use language,
while notions are the conceptual meanings (objects, entities, states of affairs, logical relationships.
and so on) expressed through language.
TASK 8 To check your understanding of the distinction between functions and notions, which items in the
following lists are functions and which are notions?
identifying
time
agreeing
direction
offering
equality
approving
cause
enquiring
greeting
frequency
advising
apologizing
existence
denying
ownership
duration
suggesting
size
warning
persuading
Finocchiaro and Brumfit suggest that functional-notionalism has the 'tremendous merit' of placing
the students and their communicative purposes at the center of the curriculum. They list the
following benefits of adopting a functional-notional orientation:
1. It sets realistic
2. learning tasks.
3. It provides for the teaching of everyday, real-world language.
4. It leads us to emphasize receptive (listening/reading) activities before rushing learners into
premature performance.
5. It recognizes that the speaker must have a real purpose for speaking, and something to
talk about.
6. Communication will be intrinsically motivating because it expresses basic communicative
functions.
7. It enables teachers to exploit sound psycholinguistic, sociolinguistic, linguistic and
educational principles.
8. It can develop naturally from existing teaching methodology.
9. It enables a spiral curriculum to be used which reintroduces grammatical, topical and
cultural material.
10. It allows for the development of flexible, modular courses.
11. It provides for the widespread promotion of foreign language courses.
(Finocchiaro and Brumfit 1983: 17)
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TASK 9 From your perspective, which three of the above reasons might prompt you to adopt a functional-
notional approach as it has been described?
6. Criticizing functional-notional syllabuses
As we have already seen, the two central issues for the syllabus designer concern ·the selection of
items for the syllabus and the grading and sequencing of these items.
TASK 10 What do you see as some of the advantages of adopting a functional-notional rather than a
grammatical approach to syllabus design?
What difficulties do you envisage for a syllabus designer attempting to address the issues of grading
and sequencing from a functionalnotional perspective?
Syllabus planners find that when turning from structurally-based syllabus design to the design of
syllabuses based on functional-notional criteria, the selection and grading of items become much
more complex. Decisions about which items to include in the syllabus can no longer be made on
linguistic grounds alone, and designers need to include items which they imagine will help learners
to carry out the communicative purposes for which they need the language. In order to determine
what these purposes are, in addition to linguistic analyses of various sorts, it is also often necessary
to carry out some form of needs analysis. This is particularly so when developing syllabuses for
courses with a specific focus.
In developing functional-notional syllabuses, designers also need to look beyond linguistic
notions of simplicity and difficulty when it comes to grading items. Invoking grammatical criteria,
it is possible to say that simple Subject + Verb + Object (SVO) structures should be taught before
more complex clausal structures involving such things as relativization. However, the grading of
functional items becomes much more complex because there are few apparent objective means
for deciding that one functional item, for instance, 'apologizing' is either simpler or more difficult
than another item such as 'requesting'. Situational, contextual, and extra-linguistic factors which
are used to a certain extent in the selection and grading of content for grammatical syllabuses
become much more prominent and tend to complicate the issues of simplicity and difficulty.
Many of the criticisms which were made of grammatical syllabuses have also been made of
functional-notional syllabuses. Widdowson pointed out as long ago as 1979 that inventories of
functions and notions do not necessarily reflect the way languages are learned any more than do
inventories of grammatical points and lexical items. He also claims that dividing language into
discrete units of whatever type misrepresents the nature of language as communication.
TASK 11 Is this a reasonable criticism of functional-notional principles as these have been described by
Finocchiaro and Brumfit (1983), or does the criticism relate more to the way in which the principles
have been realized in practice?
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7. Analytic syllabuses
As we have already seen, syllabuses can be characterized as being either synthetic or analytic. In
this book, we shall follow Widdowson's lead and consider functional-notional syllabuses as
basically synthetic. When such syllabuses began to appear, they looked very similar to the
structural syllabuses they were meant to replace. In other words, while the units in such books
generally have functional labels, the content itself and the types of exercises which learners were
expected to undertake were very similar to those they replaced. Instead of learning about 'the
simple past' learners might now be required to ·talk about the things you did last weekend'.
Analytic syllabuses, in which learners are exposed to language which has not been
linguistically graded, are more likely to result from the use of experiential rather than linguistic
content as the starting point for syllabus design. Such content might be defined in terms of
situations, topics, themes or, following a suggestion advanced by Widdowson (1978; 1979), other
academic or school subjects. The stimulus for content-based syllabuses is the notion that, unlike
science, history, or mathematics, language is not a subject in its own right, but merely a vehicle for
communicating about something else.
The use of content from other subject areas has found its widest application in courses and
materials for ESP. However, this adoption has had its difficulties. Very often the learner has
extensive knowledge in the content domain and is frustrated by what is considered a trivialization
of that content. In addition, as Hutchinson and Waters note:
In the content-based model ...the student is frustrated because he is denied the language knowledge
that enables him to do the tasks set. Despite appearances to the contrary, the content-based model
is no more creative than the language-based model. Although communicative competence
encompasses more than just linguistic competence, linguistic competence is nevertheless an essential
element in communicative competence.
(Hutchinson and Waters 1983: 101)
Dissatisfaction with the content-based approach, as it was originally conceived, prompted some
applied linguists to focus on language as a process rather than as a product. Hutchinson and
Waters developed a model combining the four elements of content, input, language, and task. The
task component is central, and from it are derived relevant language and content.
The LANGUAGE and CONTENT focused on are drawn from the INPUT, and are selected primarily
according to what the learner will need in order to do the TASK. In other words, in the TASK the
linguistic knowledge and topic knowledge that are built up through the unit are applied to the solving
of a communication problem. (op. cit.: 102)
In 4 of section II, we shall examine in greater detail task-based syllabus proposals.
TASK 12 What assumptions about the nature of language learning are likely to be held by someone adhering
to an analytic approach, in which learners are confronted with language which has not been
linguistically graded?
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One major assumption is that language can be learned holistically, in 'chunks' as it were. This
contrasts with synthetic syllabuses in which it is assumed that we can only learn one thing at a
time; and that this learning is additive and linear.
While analytic approaches take some non-linguistic base as their point of departure, it
should not be assumed that analytic syllabus designers never use grammatical criteria in selecting
and grading content. While some may avoid the use of grammatical criteria, others incorporate
grammatical items into their syllabus as a second-order activity after the topics, situations, and so
on have been selected.
8. Conclusion
We have looked at approaches to syllabus design which focus on the end product or outcomes of
learning. Now, we shall look at proposals in which learning processes are incorporated into the
syllabus design. We shall see that, once consideration of learning processes is built into the
syllabus, the traditional distinction between syllabus design and methodology becomes difficult
to sustain.
II. Process-oriented syllabuses
1. Introduction
In section I we looked at syllabuses in which the focus was on the grammatical, functional, and
notional building blocks out of which courses of various types can be constructed. Initially, it
seemed that functional-notional principles would result in syllabuses which were radically different
from those based on grammatical principles. However, in practice, the new syllabuses were rather
similar to those they were intended to replace. In both syllabuses, the focus tended to be on the
end products or results of the teaching/learning process.
We saw that syllabuses in which the selection and grading of items was carried out on a
grammatical basis fell into disfavor because they failed adequately to reflect changing views on
the nature of language. In addition, there was sometimes a mismatch between what was taught
and what was learned. Some SLA researchers have claimed that this mismatch is likely to occur
when the grading of syllabus input is carried out according to grammatical rather than
psycholinguistic principles, while others suggest that the very act of linguistically selecting and
grading input will lead to distortion.
TASK 13 What alternatives do you see to the sorts of syllabuses dealt with so far?
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In recent years, some applied linguists have shifted focus from the outcomes of instruction, i.e. the
knowledge and skills to be gained by the learner, to the processes through which knowledge and
skills might be gained. In the rest of 4 we shall look at some of the proposals which have been
made. for process syllabuses of various sorts.
This shift in emphasis has been dramatized by the tendency to separate product-oriented
syllabus design issues from process-oriented ones. This has been most noticeable within the so-
called 'British' school of applied linguistics, in which the focus tends to be either on process or
product, but not on both. (This is despite the efforts of people such as Widdowson, Candlin, and
Breen to present a more balanced view. For a useful summary of the range of positions which can
be adopted on syllabus design, see the papers in the collection by Brumfit (1984a).)
In 1, I argued that the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the curriculum should be
seen as an integrated set of processes. If such a view is adopted, it becomes unnecessary to think
in terms either of a product oriented or a process-oriented approach. While relative emphases
will vary depending on the context, environment, and purposes for which language teaching is
taking place, both outcomes and processes will be specified.
Among other things, it was the realization that specifying functions and notions would not
in itself lead to the development of communicative language skills, which prompted the
development of process-oriented views. Widdowson suggests that a basic problem has been the
confusion of means and ends.
It is not that the structural syllabus denies the eventual communicative purpose of learning but that it
implies a different means to its achievement. It is often suggested that the designers of such syllabuses
supposed that the language was of its nature entirely reducible to the elements of formal grammar and
failed to recognize the reality of use. But this is a misrepresentation. Such syllabuses were proposed as
a means towards achieving language performance through the skills of listening, speaking, reading and
writing. That is to say, they were directed towards a communicative goal and were intended, no less
than the F/N syllabus as a preparation for use. The difference lies in the conception of the means to this
end. Structural syllabuses are designed on the assumption that it is the internalization of grammar
coupled with the exercise of linguistic skills in motor-perceptual manipulation (usage) which affords the
most effective preparation for the reality of communicative encounters (use).
(Widdowson 1987: 68)
Widdowson's argument here parallels the discussion in 2 on the nature of 'general English' and its
implications for the syllabus. There it was pointed out that classroom tasks could be justified, either
because they replicated the sorts of tasks that learners would need to carry out in the real world,
or because they stimulated internal learning processes. (There are tasks which could do both, of
course.) Widdowson argues that pedagogic tasks (i.e. those which would not be carried out in the
real world) can be thought of as an investment to be drawn on to meet unpredictable
communicative needs.
TASK 14 What assumptions about the nature of language learning can you discern in the above quote from
Widdowson?
What are some of the implications of these assumptions for syllabus design?
16
In section II we shall look at some of the ways in which these ideas have made their appearance
as proposals for 'procedural' or 'process' syllabuses. In 4.3 we shall look at proposals for 'task-
based' syllabuses.
2. Procedural syllabuses
Despite some differences in practice, the principles underlying procedural and task-based
syllabuses are very similar. In fact, they are seen as synonymous by Richards, Platt, and Weber
(1985), who describe them
both as follows:
...a syllabus which is organized around tasks, rather than in terms of grammar or vocabulary. For
example the syllabus may suggest a variety of different kinds of tasks which the learners are expected
to carry out in the language, such as using the telephone to obtain information; drawing maps based
on oral instructions; performing actions based on commands given in the target language; giving
orders and instructions to others, etc. It has been argued that this is a more effective way of learning
a language since it provides a purpose for the use and learning of a language other than simply
learning language items for their own sake.
(Richards, Platt, and Weber 1985: 289)
Both task-based and procedural syllabuses share a concern with the classroom processes which
stimulate learning. They therefore differ from syllabuses in which the focus is on the linguistic items
that students will learn or the communicative skills that they will be able to display as a result of
instruction. In both approaches, the syllabus consists, not of a list of items determined through
some form of linguistic analysis, nor of a description of what learners will be able to do at the end
of a course of study, but of the specification of the tasks and activities that learners will engage in
in class.
TASK 15 Which of the following planning tasks are likely to be most important to a procedural or task-based
syllabus designer?
needs analysis
specification of real-world learning goals
specification of linguistic content
specification of topics and themes
specification of performance objectives
specification of learning tasks and activities
One particular proposal which has been widely promoted is the 'Bangalore Project' of which N. S.
Prabhu was the principal architect. Until recently, there was relatively little information on this
project, but this has changed with the publication of Prabhu's Second Language Pedagogy.
Attempts to systematize inputs to the learner through a linguistically organized syllabus, or to
maximize the practice of particular parts of language structure through activities deliberately planned
17
for that purpose were regarded as being unhelpful to the development of grammatical competence
and detrimental to the desired preoccupation with meaning in the classroom ...it was decided that
teaching should consequently be concerned with creating conditions for coping with meaning in the
classroom, to the exclusion of any deliberate regulation of the development of grammatical
competence or a mere simulation of language behavior.
(Prabhu 1987: 1-2)
…the issue was thus one of the nature of grammatical knowledge to be developed: if the desired form
of knowledge was such that it could operate subconsciously, it was best for it to develop
subconsciously as well.
(op. cit.: 14-15)
…while the conscious mind is working out some of the meaning-content, a subconscious part of the
mind perceives, abstracts, or acquires (or recreates, as a cognitive structure) some of the linguistic
structuring embodied in those entities, as a step in the development of an internal system of rules.
(op. cit.: 59-60)
TASK 16 What assumptions about the nature of language learning are revealed by these extracts?
To what extent does your own experience lead you to agree or disagree with these assumptions?
(For a different perspective, you might like to read Breen (1987), and Somerville-Ryan (1987), who
emphasize the role of the learner in process syllabus design. It is also worth reading Rutherford
(1987) for a very different view of grammar-learning as process.)
Prabhu provides the following three task 'types' which were used in the project.
1. Information-gap activity, which involves a transfer of given information from one person
to another- or from one form or another, or from one place to another- generally calling
for the decoding or encoding of information from or into language.
2. Reasoning-gap activity, which involves deriving some new information from given
information through processes of inference, deduction, practical reasoning, or a
perception of relationships or patterns.
3. Opinion-gap activity, which involves identifying and articulating a personal preference,
feeling, or attitude in response to a given situation.
(op. cit.: 46-7)
TASK 17 During the course of the project, teachers came to prefer reasoning gap activities over the other two
types.
Can you suggest why this might have been so?
What would be the major differences between a procedural syllabus and a traditional grammatical
syllabus?
One possible criticism of the Bangalore Project is that no guidance is provided on the selection of
problems and tasks, nor how these might relate to the real-world language needs of the learners.
In other words, the focus is exclusively on learning processes and there is little or no attempt to
relate these processes to outcomes.
18
TASK 18 Do you think that this is a reasonable criticism?
How important is it for a syllabus to specify both learning processes and outcomes?
Can you think of any teaching contexts in which it might be less important than others to specify
outcomes?
3. Task-based syllabuses
We shall now look at some other proposals for the use of tasks as the point of departure in syllabus
design. The selection of 'task' as a basic building block has been justified on several grounds, but
most particularly for pedagogic and psycholinguistic reasons. Long and Crookes (1986) cite
general educational literature which suggests that tasks are a more salient· unit of planning for
teachers than objectives; Candlin (1987) provides a pedagogic rationale, while Long (1985) looks
to SLA research (although, as we saw in 3, SLA research can be invoked to support contrary views
on syllabus design).
TASK 19 How do you think the term 'task' might be defined by language syllabus designers?
Despite its rather recent appearance on the syllabus scene, 'task-based' covers several divergent
approaches. Two recent definitions of 'task' are provided below.
…a piece of work undertaken for oneself or for others, freely or for some reward. Thus, examples of
tasks include painting a fence, dressing a child, filling out a form, buying a pair of shoes, making an
airline reservation . . . In other words, by "task" is meant the hundred and one things people do in
everyday life.
(Long 1985: 89)
…an activity or action which is carried out as the result of processing or understanding language (i.e.
as a response). For example, drawing a map while listening to an instruction and performing a
command… A task usually requires the teacher to specify what will be regarded as successful
completion of the task.
(Richards, Platt, and Weber 1985: 289)
TASK 20 A distinction which is not always made in the literature is between real-world tasks (i.e. those tasks
that the learner might be called upon to perform in real life) and pedagogic tasks (those tasks the
learner is required to carry out in the classroom).
To what extent are the authors of the above statements referring to real-world or pedagogic tasks?
Just as writers on task-based syllabus design have offered different definitions of 'task', so have
they adopted different approaches to the selection of tasks. Thus Candlin (1987) chooses to
articulate pedagogic criteria for task-selection while Long (1985) advocates a form of needs
analysis as the starting point.
19
Candlin offers the following criteria for judging the worth of tasks. Good tasks, he suggests,
should:
promote attention to meaning, purpose, negotiation
encourage attention to relevant data
draw objectives from the communicative needs of learners
allow for flexible approaches to the task, offering different routes, media, modes of
participation, procedures
allow for different solutions depending on the skills and strategies drawn on by learners
involve learner contributions, attitudes, and affects
be challenging but not threatening, to promote risk-taking
require input from all learners in terms of knowledge, skills, participation
define a problem to be worked through by learners, centered on the learners but guided
by the teacher
involve language use in the solving of the task
allow for co-evaluation by the learner and teacher of the task and of the performance of
the task
develop the learners' capacities to estimate consequences and repercussions of the task in
question
provide opportunities for metacommunication and metacognition (i.e. provide
opportunities for learners to talk about communication and about learning)
provide opportunities for language practice
promote learner-training for problem-sensing and problem-solving (i.e. identifying and
solving problems)
promote sharing of information and expertise
provide monitoring and feedback, of the learner and the task
heighten learners' consciousness of the process and encourage reflection (i.e. to sensitize
learners to the learning processes in which they are participating)
promote a critical awareness about data and the processes of language learning
ensure cost-effectiveness and a high return on investment (i.e. the effort to master given
aspects of the language should be functionally useful, either for communicating beyond
the classroom, or in. terms of the cognitive and affective development of the learner).
TASK 21 From the above list, select the five criteria which seem to you to be the most useful for selecting tasks.
What guided you in your choice?
What are some of the things which might need to be specified when designing pedagogic tasks?
Doyle (1979; 1983), working within a general educational context, was one of the first to suggest
that the curriculum could be viewed as a collection of academic tasks. He maintains that tasks will
need to specify the following:
1. the products students are to formulate
2. the operations that are required to generate the product
20
3. the resources available to the student to generate the product.
(Doyle 1983: 161)
A similar, though more comprehensive set of elements, is proposed by Shavelson and Stern (1981)
who suggest that in planning instructional tasks, teachers need to consider:
1. the subject matter to be taught
2. materials, i.e. those things the learner will observe/manipulate
3. the activities the teacher and learners will be carrying out
4. the goals for the task
5. the abilities, needs and interests of the students
6. the social and cultural context of instruction.
This list is so comprehensive that with a little rearrangement, and the addition of assessment and
evaluation components, it could form the basis for a comprehensive curriculum model.
TASK 22 What, in your opinion, would need to be added to the list for it to form the basis for a comprehensive
curriculum model?
Long, who uses needs analysis as his point of departure, offers the following procedure for
developing a task-based syllabus:
The purpose of a needs identification is to obtain information which will determine the content of a
language teaching programme, i.e. to provide input for syllabus design.
Inventories of tasks that result from the type of analysis described above are necessary for this
purpose, but insufficient.
They are only the raw data and must be manipulated in various ways before they are transformed into
a syllabus usable in classroom teaching. The steps in this process are as follows:
1. Conduct a needs analysis to obtain an inventory of target tasks.
2. Classify the target tasks into task types.
3. From the task types, derive pedagogical tasks.
4. Select and sequence the pedagogical tasks to form a task syllabus.
(Long 1985: 91)
TASK 23 In terms of the process-product orientation already discussed, in what way is Long's proposal different
from that of Prabhu?
Long's final step raises the issue of grading, which, as we have seen, is one of the central steps in
syllabus construction. It could be argued that any proposal failing to offer criteria for grading and
sequencing can hardly claim to be a syllabus at all.
21
TASK 24 What difficulties do you foresee in grading the tasks and activities in a task-based syllabus?
It is generally assumed that difficulty is the key factor in determining the ordering of items in a
syllabus. Ali things being equal, items are presented to learners according to their degree of difficulty.
The problem for the task-based syllabus designer is that a variety of factors will interact to determine
task difficulty. In addition, as some of these factors will be dependent on characteristics of the learner,
what is difficult for Learner A may not necessarily be difficult for Learner B.
TASK 25 Suggest some of the factors which you think might have a bearing on task difficulty·.
Most of the applied linguists who have explored the concept of communicative language teaching
in general, and task-based syllabus design in particular, have addressed the issue of difficulty,
although the factors they identify vary somewhat. They include the degree of contextual support
provided to the learner, the cognitive difficulty of the task, the amount of assistance provided to
the learner, the complexity of the language which the learner is required to process and produce,
the psychological stress involved in carrying out the task, and the amount and type of background
knowledge required. (We shall examine the issue of task difficulty in 7).
The development of process and task-based syllabuses represents a change of focus rather
than a revolution in syllabus design. Until fairly recently the preoccupation has been with the
outcomes of instruction rather than with the pedagogic processes which are most likely to lead to
these outcomes. While any comprehensive. syllabus design will still need to specify outcomes, and
to provide links between classroom processes and real-world communicative goals, they will also
need to provide principles for selecting classroom learning tasks and activities. We shall look at
this issue in greater detail in 5.
4. Content syllabuses
In 3 we saw that the content syllabus is yet another realization of the analytic approach to syllabus
design. It differs from task-based syllabuses in that experiential content, which provides the point of
departure for the syllabus, is usually derived from some fairly well-defined subject area. This might
be other subjects in a school curriculum such as science or social studies, or specialist subject matter
relating to an academic or technical field such as mechanical engineering, medicine, or computing.
Whether content syllabuses exemplify product or process syllabuses is a matter for
conjecture. In fact, most of them would probably be located at the center of the product/process
continuum. I have included them in the discussion on process syllabuses because it seems that the
best work being done in the area focuses on process rather than product. (See, for example, the
work of Hutchinson and Waters (1983) in ESP.)
TASK 26 What might be some of the advantages, as you see them, of adopting another subject area as the
basis for syllabus design?
22
By selecting subject areas such as those just mentioned, the syllabus is given a logic and coherence
which might be missing from analytic syllabuses which are little more than a random collection of
tasks. In addition, the logic of the subject may provide a non-linguistic rationale for selecting and
grading content.
In Australia, much of the teaching in adult ESL classes is content oriented. Syllabuses take as
their point of departure the skills and knowledge which syllabus planners and teachers feel is
important for new arrivals. Units of work thus appear with labels such as 'health', 'education', and
'social services'. While the relevance of this content might seem obvious, many learners are
confused by content-oriented courses, thinking they have strayed into a settlement rather than a
language programme. In such cases, it is important for teachers to negotiate with the learners and
demonstrate the relationship between language and content.
In a recent publication, Mohan (1986) argues for content-based syllabuses on the grounds
that they facilitate learning not merely through language but with language.
We cannot achieve this goal if we assume that language learning and subject-matter learning are
totally separate and unrelated operations. Yet language and subject matter are still standardly
considered in isolation from each other.
(Mohan 1986: iii)
Mohan develops a knowledge framework which can be used for organizing knowledge and
learning activities. The knowledge framework consists of a specific, practical side and a general,
theoretical side. The specific side is divided into description, sequence, and choice, while the
general side is divided into classification, principles, and evaluation. It is suggested that any topic
can be exploited in terms of these six categories, and that the knowledge structure of a topic is
revealed through the following types of questions:
(A) Specific practical aspects
(particular examples, specific cases within the topic)
1. Description Who, what, where? What persons, materials, equipment, items, settings?
2. Sequence What happens? What happens next? What is the plot? What are the processes,
procedures, or routines?
3. Choice What are the choices, conflicts, alternatives, dilemmas, decisions?
(B) General theoretical aspects
(What are the general concepts, principles, and values in the topic material?)
1. Classification What concepts apply? How are they related to each other?
2. Principles What principles are there? (cause-effect, means-end, methods and techniques,
rules, norms, strategies?)
3. Evaluation What values and standards are appropriate? What counts as good or bad?
(Adapted from Mohan 1986: 36-7)
23
The knowledge framework is reflected in the classroom through activities, which Mohan calls
'combinations of action and theoretical understanding', and which are realized through action
situations. Mohan claims that any action situation contains the elements listed in the knowledge
framework; that is, description, sequence, and choice, along with the theoretical counterparts of
classification, principles, and evaluation. The action situations can be presented to learners through
the familiar pedagogical tools of picture sequences and dialogues.
TASK 27 Mohan's proposal is yet another example of an approach to language teaching in which the focus is
on the development of language through classroom activities which are designed to promote
cognitive skills. What parallels are there between Prabhu's process syllabus, and Mohan's content-
based proposal?
Do you have any criticisms or reservations about Mohan's proposals?
In a recent review of Mohan's book, it is suggested that:
One basic problem is the author's assumption that the knowledge structures included in his
organizational framework are indeed the relevant structures. What evidence is there that there are
three, and only three, relevant practical knowledge structures? ...a second assumption made in this
approach to the integration of language and content is that moving from the practical to the
theoretical is the direction most desirable for teaching and learning. Is this direction best for all
learners, or do some learn better when they begin from a theoretical base? The level of maturity of
the learner, individual learning strategies and previous learning experience may play important roles
in optimal sequencing.
(Perry 1987: 141)
5. The natural approach
The so called 'natural approach' has been most comprehensively described by Krashen and Terrell
(1983). Like Long's task-based proposal, the principles underpinning the approach are claimed to
be based on empirical research and can be summarized as follows:
1. The goal of the Natural Approach is communication skills.
2. Comprehension precedes production.
3. Production emerges (i.e. learners are not forced to respond).
4. Activities which promote subconscious acquisition rather than conscious learning are
central.
5. The affective filter is lowered.
(After Krashen and Terrell 1983: 58)
TASK 28 Do you disagree with any of these principles?
Consider the principles you do agree with: Do you think we need empirical evidence on these, or are
they just common sense?
Do you think that Krashen and Terrell can legitimately claim authorship of principles such as 'develop
communication skills'?
24
For which of the principles would you like to see firm evidence?
Krashen and Terrell develop a simple typology, claiming that most learning goals can be divided
into one of two categories: basic personal communication skills and academic learning skills, and
that these can be further subdivided into oral and written modes.
TASK 29 How useful is this typology?
Can you think of learning goals which do not fit the typology?
Do you think that the approach might be more suited to basic personal communication skills or
academic learning skills?
The authors of the approach claim that:
The Natural Approach is designed to develop basic personal communication skills - both oral and
written. It was not developed specifically to teach academic learning skills, although it appears
reasonable to assume that a good basis in the former will lead to greater success in the latter.
(Krashen and Terrell 1983: 67)
TASK 30 Just how reasonable is the assumption that the development of communication skills will facilitate
the development of academic learning skills?
What view of language would seem to underly this assertion?
The basis of this approach seems to be the assumption that language consists of a single
underlying psychological skill, and that developing the ability, say, to understand the radio will
assist the learner to comprehend academic lectures.
Another major weakness in the approach taken by Krashen and Terrell is the assumption
that learning takes place in a social vacuum, and that social aspects of the learning environment
(in particular, the classroom) are irrelevant to what and how learners learn. Such an assumption
has been questioned by Breen (1985) who suggests that:
How things are done and why they are done have particular psychological significance for the
individual and for the group. The particular culture of a language class will socially act in certain ways,
but these actions are extensions or manifestations of the psychology of the group ...What is significant
for learners (and a teacher) in a classroom is not only their individual thinking and behavior, nor, for
instance, their longer-term mastery of a syllabus, but the day-to-day interpersonal rationalization of
what is to be done, why, and how.
(Breen 1985: 149)
6. Syllabus design and methodology
It would seem, with the development of process, task-based, and content syllabuses, that the
traditional distinction between syllabus design (specifying the 'what') and methodology
(specifying the 'how') has become blurred.
Widdowson takes a rather traditional line on this matter, suggesting that a syllabus is the
25
…specification of a teaching programme or pedagogic agenda which defines a particular subject for
a particular group of learners.
Such a specification provides not only a characterization of content, the formalization in pedagogic
terms of an area of knowledge or behavior, but also arranges this content as a succession of interim
objectives.
(Widdowson 1987: 65)
He further suggests that the two syllabus archetypes, structural and functional-notional, exhaust
the possibilities for the syllabus designer. Both types assume certain methodological practices. The
structural syllabus, 'will tend to promote activities which serve to internalize the formal properties
of language' (op. cit.: 71). The danger of this type of syllabus is that learners may not be able to
use their linguistic knowledge in actual communication. The functional-notional syllabus will
promote activities which attempt to replicate in class 'real' communication. Classroom activities
thus become a 'dress rehearsal' for real-life encounters.
TASK 31 The danger of the 'dress rehearsal' methodology, according to Widdowson, is that learners may not
be able to transfer what they have learned to new situations but will only be able to perform in the
limited situations which they have rehearsed.
Do you agree or disagree with this view? What evidence do you have for your belief?
To what extent do you think learners can transfer functional skills from one situation or context to
another? (Do you, for example, believe that someone who has learned to provide personal details in
a job interview will also be able to provide details to a doctor's receptionist? Would such a person be
able to provide personal details about their child to a teacher? Would they be able to ask for
directions?)
How do these issues relate to the discussion in 2 on 'general' and 'specific' English?
Widdowson proposes the following methodological solution:
[the methodology would engage the learners in problem-solving tasks as purposeful activities but
without the rehearsal requirement that they should be realistic or 'authentic' as natural social
behavior. The process of solving such problems would involve a conscious and repeated reference to
the formal properties of the language, not in the abstract dissociated from use, but as a necessary
resource for the achievement of communicative outcomes.
(op. cit.: 71-2)
TASK 32 Compare this statement to those made by Prabhu, Long, and Krashen and Terrell.
What are the similarities and differences between the various proposals?
What are the implications of Widdowson's view for syllabus design?
TASK 33 Widdowson's view would seem to deny that process or task-based syllabuses, in which the 'how' and
the 'what' are intertwined, are syllabuses at all.
Do you accept the dissociation of syllabus design issues from those of methodology?
26
Do you believe that process and task-based syllabuses represent legitimate approaches to syllabus
design?
In contrast with Widdowson's view that process considerations belong to methodology, Breen
claims that process considerations (i.e. the means rather than the ends) can properly be considered
the province of syllabus design.
An alternative orientation would prioritize the route itself: a focusing upon the means towards the
learning of a new language. Here the designer would give priority to the changing process of learning
and the potential of the classroom - to the psychological and social resources applied to a new
language by learners in the classroom context. One result of this change of focus would be that the
syllabus could become a plan for the gradual creation of the real syllabus of the classroom, jointly
and explicitly undertaken by teacher and learners. Such a plan would be about designing a syllabus
and, therefore, a guide and servant for the map-making capacities of its users. Primarily it would be a
plan for the activity of learning within the classroom group.
(Breen 1984: 52)
7. Grading tasks
The issue of grading was touched upon in 4.3. Here we shall take a further look at the grading of
elements in process syllabuses.
Standard texts on language teaching have tended to categorize classroom activities
according to the demands they make on the learner. It has generally been assumed that the
receptive skills of listening and reading make fewer demands than the productive skills of speaking
and writing. Standard treatments of activity types, which are divided according to their principal
macroskill focus, can be found in Rivers (1968) and Chastain (1976). For a more comprehensive
and contemporary treatment of speaking and listening, refer to Bygate: Speaking and Anderson
and Lynch: Listening in this Scheme. Wright: Roles of Teachers and Learners also deals with task
types and the sorts of language they stimulate.
The development of communicative language teaching with its focus on meaning has led to
the use of more authentic materials. These, naturally enough, contain a range of linguistic structures,
which has meant that grammatical criteria alone cannot be used as a yardstick of difficulty.
Nunan (1985) presents a typology of activity types in which difficulty is determined by the
cognitive and performance demands made upon the learner, i.e. activity type is categorized
according to type of learner response (see Figure 1). The typology exploits the traditional
comprehension/production distinction and adds an interaction element (recent classroom-based
research suggests that interactive language use in which learners are required to negotiate
meaning can stimulate processes of second language acquisition).
27
Figure 1: Activity type categorized according to learner responses (Nunan 1985)
Using the typology, it is possible to take a given text or piece of source material such as dialogue,
a map or chart, a radio weather report, a newspaper article, etc. and exploit it by devising activities
at different levels of difficulty. At a basic level, with an aural text, learners might be required to
respond non-verbally by raising their hand every time a given key word is heard. Using the same
text with much more advanced learners, the task might be to discuss and answer in small groups
a set of questions requiring inferences to be derived from the text.
TASK 34 How comprehensive is this typology? Can you think of activity types which are not covered?
How useful do you think the typology might be for grading tasks in a process syllabus?
The following example illustrates the way in which a given text (in this case an aura) text) is
processed at increasing levels of sophistication following the typology suggested by Nunan.
Material Source
Interview adapted from an authentic source
Interviewer: Have you got a family, Doris?
Doris: Family? Yeah, I've got a family all right. My father's still alive, His name's Jack. He's
still with us all right.
Interviewer: What about your husband?
Doris: Bert. That's my husband. That's him in the-photo, there.
Interviewer: I see. What about children?
Doris: Three, I've got three children. Two sons and a daughter. The sons are Peter and Jack,
and my daughter's called Nancy. Nancy's the youngest - she's only eighteen.
28
Activities
Level 1: Processing
Response: physical, non-verbal
Pre-teach the words 'father', 'husband', 'sons', 'daughter'. Play the tape. Every time students hear
these words they put up their hands.
Response: non-physical, non-verbal
Pre-teach the words 'father', 'husband', 'sons', 'daughter'. Students sight read the words on the
grid. Play the tape. Every time students hear the words they place a tick in the appropriate box.
father
mother
sons
daughter
Response: non-physical, non-verbal
Pre-teach the words 'father', 'husband', 'sons', 'daughter'.
Give the students a written gapped version of the text. Play the tape and get students to fill) in the
gaps.
Level 2: Productive
Repetition
Get students to listen and repeat.
Cue: Have you got a family?
Have you got any children? Have you got a son?
Have you got a daughter?
Response: drill
Get students to listen and complete.
Cue: Have you got a family (any children)?
Response: Have you got any children?
Cue: a son
Response: Have you got a son?
Cue: a daughter
Response: Have you got a daughter?
Cue: an uncle
Response: Have you got an uncle?
etc.
Response: meaningful practice
Put students into_ pairs and get them to ask and answer questions using cue cards.
A Have you got (a/an/any) _________________? family/ children/ son/ daughter/
uncle/ aunt/ niece/ nephew
29
Level 3: Interactive
Simulated: role-play
Give each student a role card which contains a persona and a family tree. Students have to circulate
and find members of their family.
Real: discussion
Put students into small groups and ask them to take turns at describing their families using the
structures already practiced.
Real: problem solving
Students are given a blank family tree. They are split into three groups, and each group hears an
incomplete description of the family.
They work together to fill in their part of the family tree and then join with members of other
groups to complete the family tree.
With ESP and content-based syllabuses, an obvious means of grading content is with reference to
concepts associated with the subject in question. In subjects involving science and mathematics,
there are certain concepts which should logically precede others. Whether in fact such conceptual
grading is appropriate for second language learners is another matter, and one which will probably
vary from subject to subject. It will also depend on the extent to which the learner is familiar with
the subject.
In Mohan's knowledge framework, task difficulty is determined by cognitive complexity. On the
specific practical side, tasks which focus on description are simpler than those involving sequence, and
these, in turn, are simpler than tasks involving choice. On the corresponding theoretical side,
classification is simpler than the identification of principles, which is simpler than evaluation.
Brown and Yule (1983) devote considerable attention to task difficulty. They suggest that
listening tasks can be graded with reference to speaker, intended listener, and content.
When listening to a tape, the fewer the speakers, the easier the text will be to follow.
Following one speaker will be easier than following two, following two will be easier than following
three, and so on. According to Brown and Yule, even native speakers have difficulty following a
taped conversation which involves four or more participants.
In relation to the intended listener, they suggest that texts, particularly 'authentic' texts which
are not addressed to the listener, may be boring to the learner and therefore difficult to process.
They go on to state that:
...it is, in principle, not possible to find material which would interest everyone. It follows that the
emphasis should be moved from attempting to provide intrinsically interesting materials, which we
have just claimed is generally impossible, to doing interesting things with materials ...these materials
should be chosen, not so much on the basis of their own interest, but for what they can be used to
do.
(Brown and Yule 1983: 83)
30
In considering content, they confess that surprisingly little is known about what constitutes
'difficult' content. The problem here, as Nunan (1984) demonstrates, is that there is an interaction
between the linguistic difficulty of a text and the amount of background knowledge which the
listener or reader is able to exploit in comprehending the text.
In summary then, a listening text which involves more than one speaker, which is not
addressed to the listener, and in which the topic is unfamiliar to the listener will be more difficult
to comprehend than a monologue on a familiar topic which is addressed to the listener.
In relation to speaking tasks, Brown and Yule suggest that:
Taking short turns is generally easier than long turns. Talking to a familiar, sympathetic individual is
less demanding than talking to an unfamiliar, uninvolved individual or group. Something one knows
about and has well-organized in memory is naturally easier to talk about than a new topic or
experience which has little internal organization in itself.
(op. cit.: 107)
In addition, the text type will have an effect on difficulty. According to Brown and Yule, straight
descriptions will be easier than instructions, which will be easier than storytelling. Providing and
justifying opinions will be the most difficult. Also, within each genre, the number of elements,
properties, relationships, and characters will also have an effect on difficulty, as is demonstrated in
Figure 2.
description description/instruction storytelling opinion expressing
more
difficult
many elements, properties, relationships, characters or factors which may be difficult to
distinguish from each other
less
difficult
few elements, properties, relationships, characters or factors which are easily distinguished
one from the next
Figure 2: Factors determining difficulty of listening texts (Brown and Yule 1983: 107)
Candlin (1987) offers the following factors as likely to be significant in determining difficulty:
cognitive load (the complexity of the mental operation to be carried out; for instance
Candlin suggests that tasks which require learners to follow a clear chronological sequence
will be easier than a task in which there is no such clear development)
communicative stress (the stress caused by the context, which will be determined by such
things as the learner's knowledge of the subject at hand and relationship with the other
individuals taking part in the interaction)
particularity and generalizability (the extent to which the tasks follow a universal or
stereotyped pattern)
code complexity and interpretive density (the complexity of the language particularly in
terms of the sorts of processing constraints described by SLA researchers and the extent
to which the learners are required to interpret what they hear or read)
31
content continuity (the extent to which the content relates to the real-world interests or
needs of the learners)
process continuity (the coherence, continuity, and interrelatedness of tasks)
Long suggests that tasks requiring a one-way transfer of information should precede those
requiring a two-way exchange, that convergent tasks should precede divergent ones, that tasks in
the 'here and now' should precede ones involving displaced time and space, and that intellectual
content should be a factor in grading tasks (Long 1987).
One of the most comprehensive treatments of listening task difficulty is that offered by
Anderson and Lynch: Listening in this Scheme. They identify a range of factors which influence
difficulty. These can be attributed either to the listener, the listening material, or the task. The
following factors have been extracted from their book (you are referred to the original for a
comprehensive treatment of listening task difficulty):
the sequence in which information is presented
the familiarity of the listener with the topic
the explicitness of the information contained in the text
the type of input
the type and scope of the task to be carried out
the amount of support provided to the listener
TASK 35 Review the work of Anderson and Lynch, Brown and Yule, Candlin, Long, Nunan, and Mohan
presented in 4 and create your own list of all those factors likely to affect the difficulty of a task.
8. Conclusion
We have looked at proposals which focus on learning processes rather than on the end products
of these processes. This does not mean that all such syllabuses do not, at some stage, include a
specification of what learners should be able to do as a result of instruction. However, if and when
grammatical, functional, ·and notional elements are considered, this happens as a second-order
activity.
With the adoption of procedural, task-based, content-based, and other non-linguistic
approaches to syllabus design, the distinction between syllabus design and methodology becomes
blurred.
32
Conversationally speaking: approaches to
the teaching of conversation
The ''conversation class" is something of an enigma in language teaching. In some language
programs it is an opportunity for untrained native speakers to get students to talk for the duration
of a class period, using whatever resources and techniques the teacher can think of. In language
programs where trained language teachers are available, they are often left to their own resources
and encouraged to dip into whatever materials they choose in order to provide practice in both
"accuracy" and "fluency." Consequently the content of conversation classes varies widely. In one
class the teacher's primary emphasis might be on problem solving. Students work on
communication games and tasks in pairs or small groups with relatively little direct teacher input.
In another class, the teacher might have a more active role, employing grammar and pronunciation
drills and structured oral tasks. A third teacher may use the conversation class as an opportunity
for unstructured free discussion, while in another class the teacher might have students work on
situational dialogues such as "At the bank" and "At the supermarket."
Part of the difficulty in deciding what to do in the conversation class is due to the nature of
conversation itself. What is conversation and what is involved in producing fluent, appropriate,
and intelligible conversation? Can conversation be taught or is it something that is acquired simply
by doing it? What principles can be used in planning a conversation program and in developing
classroom activities and materials? These questions are addressed in this reading by first
examining the nature of conversation, and then considering the implications for planning an
approach to the teaching of conversation.
The nature of conversation
Conversation is a multifaceted activity. In order to appreciate the complex nature of conversation
and conversational fluency, some of the most important dimensions of conversation are examined
here: the purposes of conversation, turn-taking, topics, repair, formal features of conversation, and
the notion of fluency.
33
Purposes of conversation
Conversations serve a variety of purposes. Two different kinds of conversational interaction can be
distinguished - those in which the primary focus is on the exchange of information (the
transactional function of conversation), and those in which the primary purpose is to establish and
maintain social relations (the interactional function of conversation) (Brown and Yule 1983). In
transactional uses of conversation the primary focus is on the message, whereas interactional uses
of conversation focus primarily on the social needs of the participants. Approaches to the teaching
of both conversation and listening comprehension are fundamentally affected by whether the
primary purposes involved are transactional or interactional.
Conversation also reflects the rules and procedures that govern faceto-face encounters, as
well as the constraints that derive from the use of spoken language. This is seen in the nature of
turns, the role of copies, how speakers repair trouble spots, as well as the syntax and register of
conversational discourse.
Turn-taking
Conversation is a collaborative process. A speaker does not say everything he or she wants to say
in a single utterance. Conversations progress as a series of "turns"; at any moment, the speaker
may become the listener. Basic to the management of the collaborative process in conversation is
the turn-taking system.
A basic rule of conversation is that only one person speaks at a time, and in North American
settings participants work to ensure that talk is continuous. Silence or long pauses are considered
awkward and embarrassing, even though in other cultures this is not the case. Successful
management and control of the turn-taking system in conversation involves control of a number
of strategies (Wardhaugh 1985).
Strategies for taking a turn. These involve ways of entering into a conversation or raking over the
role of speaker, and include
using interjections to signal a request for a turn, such as "Mm-hmm," "Yeah," and rising
intonation
using facial or other gestures to indicate a wish to take a turn
accepting a turn offered by another speaker by responding to a question or by providing
the second part of an adjacency pair (e.g., expressing thanks in response to a compliment)
completing or adding to something said by the speaker
Strategies for holding a turn. These involve indicating that one has more to say - for example,
through intonation or by using; expressions to suggest continuity, such as "First," "Another thing,"
"Then."
Strategies for relinquishing the turn. These are devices used to firing the other person(s) into the
conversation, and include
34
using adjacency pairs, requiring the other person to provide the sequence, such as with
the adjacency pair challenge-denial:
A: You look tired.
B: l feel fine.
using phonologic signals, such as slowing down the final syllables of an utterance and
increasing the pitch change to signal completion of the turn
pausing to provide an opportunity for someone to take up the turn
using a facial or bodily gesture to signal that a turn is finished
Participants in conversation are involved in ongoing evaluation of each other's utterances to judge
appropriate places to take up the turn to talk. As Slade (1986: 79) observes:
Turn taking and turn assignment in conversation can be difficult for a second language
speaker. A learner who mistimes his entry into conversation or who is unfamiliar with the correct
formulae can give the impression of being "pushy" or, conversely, over-reticent.
In addition to use of turn-taking strategies, speakers are required to use: both short and long
turns (Brown and Yule 1983). A short turn consists of one or two utterances:
A: Did you like the movie?
B: It was all right.
A: Who was in it?
B: Shelley Long.
A long turn might be required for a speaker to explain an opinion, describe something, or tell a
joke or a story. For example, the following speaker is recounting an encounter with a cockroach
during an examination.
We were sitting for our analytical chemistry exam and it was the final exam. And they have sort
of like bench desks where there’s three to a bench normally and they had the middle seat empty –
and two sat either side, and I was sitting there and I thought, "Geez I can feel something on my foot."
And I thought, "No, no, Don't worry about it," you know, "What on earth is this chemical equation?"
and I’m trying to think. But there´s something on my foot and I looked down and there was this
cockroach like - and I just screamed and jumped up on the chair. (Slade 1986: 86)
The inability to take up long turns in conversation is a feature of many second language
speakers, who keep to short turns and appear to be less than collaborative conversational partners.
The role of topics
The way topics are selected for discussion within conversation and the strategies speakers use to
introduce, develop, or change topics within conversations constitute another important dimension
of conversational management. For example, coherent conversation respects norms concerning
the choice of topics. Questions concerning one's age, salary, and marital status may be appropriate
on first encounters in some cultures, but not in others. Coulthard (1977: 75-6) comments:
An initial question is what sort of things can and do form topics in conversation? Some topics
are not relevant to particular conversations ... and the suitability of other topics depends on the
person one is talking to. We experience, see, hear about events all the time ... Some are tellable to
35
everyone, some have a restricted audience, some must be told immediately, and some can wait
and still retain their interest.
Part of the structure of conversational openings has to do with the positioning of topics
within the conversation, as Schegloff and Sacks (1973) point out. The participants select a topic as
first topic through a process of negotiation. The first topic, however, may be held back until the
conversation develops to a point where it can be appropriately introduced. For example, a
conversation may open:
A: What's up?
B: Not much. What's up with you?
A: Nothing.
Later, after possible preambles, one of the participants may go on to introduce a topic such as a
job offer, which could have been given as a direct response to "What's up?". As Goffman points
out, conversationalists might want to "talk past" some topics initially, waiting until a much later
time to introduce a sensitive issue, "all of which management requires some understanding of
issues such as delicacy''(Goffman 1976: 268). Schegloff and Sacks have also pointed out that in
telephone conversations there is often a preamble to the first topic that offers the possibility of
closing the conversation, should the other speaker so desire, such as "Did I wake you up?" or "Are
you busy?", which if declined becomes a presequence for topic talk.
Winskowski (1977, 1978) refers to topicalizing behavior, by which is meant bringing up
topics, responding to other people's topics, mentioning something, avoiding the mention of
something, carrying the discussion one step further, and so on - the creating of topic in the activity.
With this focus on topic as process, topic behavior can often be seen to consist of rounds of topical
turns that are reciprocally addressed and replied to, as in the following example:
A: Oh nothing, we're just cleaning up. We had dinner. What's new? B: Nothing much. l still
got a cold.
A: Oh, has it improved at all, hopefully?
B: Yeah, it's gotten better, it's gotten better. It'll be all right tomorrow. It better because I'm
going out tomorrow.
(Winskowski 1977: 86)
Hatch (1978) emphasizes that second language learners need a wide range of topics at their
disposal. Initially, learners may depend on ", canned topics." Although they may get by with their
ability to answer questions about recurring topics, such as how long they have been in the country,
their occupation, and family, learners need practice in introducing new topics into conversation in
order to move beyond this stage.
They should practice nominating topics about which they are prepared to speak. They should
do lots of listening comprehension for topic nominations of native speakers. They should practice
predicting questions for a large number of topics… They should be taught ... elicitation devices... to
get topic clarification. That is, they should practice saying "huh," echoing parts of sentences they do
not understand in order to get the rest of it recycled again, "pardon me, excuse me, I didn't
36
understand etc." Nothing stops the opportunity to carry on a conversation quicker than silence or
the use of "yes" and head-nodding when the learner does not understand. (Hatch 1978: 434)
Learners also need to be able to follow the flow of a topic through conversation. Knowledge
of the real world in the form of schema knowledge is one source of information the learner can make
use of predicting and anticipating questions and the direction of conversation for certain topics.
Repair
Repair refers to efforts by both parties in conversation to correct problems that arise. Van Lier
(1988: 180-2) emphasizes that discourse
involves continuous adjustment between speakers and hearers obliged to operate in a code which
gives them problems. This adjustment-in-interaction may be crucial to language development, for it
leads to noticing discrepancies between what is said and what is heard, and to resolution of these
discrepancies ...
Repairing, as one of the mechanisms of feedback ... is likely to be an important variable in language
learning. Although it is not a sufficient condition, we may safely assume that it is a necessary
condition.
Repairs may he initiated by either the speaker (self-repairs) or the hearer (other repairs). The
second language learner may also request clarification from a native speaker (NS) when
misunderstanding occurs. Echoing is one technique that is used, when the nonnative speaker
(NNS) repeats a word or phrase that is nor understood and the conversational partner explains it
or replaces it with an easier item.
NS: We're going mountaineering tomorrow.
NNS: Mountain ... ee ... ?
N S: Mountaineering. You know, to climb up the mountain.
Another response to a request for repair involves topic fronting, as in the following example:
NS: Do you come from a big family?
NNS: Uhh?
NS: Your family. Is it big? Do you have lots of brothers and sisters?
Formal features of conversation
Conversational discourse is also recognized by formal features, which distinguish it from written
discourse.
SYNTAX
Written language exhibits a different syntax from spoken discourse. In the written mode, clauses
are linked in complex ways, with a main clause often followed by or linked to subordinate clauses.
37
Rules of intra and intersentential relations serve to link repeated and coreferential constituents.
This is not possible in spoken discourse. Brown and Yule (1983: 4) observe:
Most spoken language consists of paratactic (unsubordinated) phrases which are marked as
related to each other, not so much by the syntax as by the way the speaker says them.
The speaker uses the resources of pausing and rhythm and, to a lesser extent, intonation, to
mark out for the listener which parts of his speech need to be co-interpreted.
Similarly, Syder (1,83: 32) notes:
Normal procedure in spontaneous connected discourse is for the speaker to package his
thoughts into a series of relatively complete and independent clauses. All the syntactic and
semantic elements needed to understand the clause are present in the clause, and there is minimal
cross referencing to other clauses require of the hearer.
Bygate concludes (1987:62-3):
The learner engaged in oral communication is more likely to be working with small chunks
than any other user of language. This is because, in addition to the fragmentary nature of oral
discourse, the learner’s processing capacity is limited.
Bygate notes that in conversation, speakers tend to avoid complex noun groups containing
a series of adjectives (e.g., "an elegant new red two door Italian sports car"); and instead spread
adjectives out over several clauses. As a result, spoken language is less dense than written
language. Bygate gives an example of a second language learner describing a picture:
OK - in this picture in picture-er-number 1-1 can see-er a little girl-who probably-is inside-
her house-er who is playing-with a bear-this bear—it has a brown color and –the little girl is sitting-
in the-in the stairs of her house-this house is very nice-it has rugs-it has brown rugs-mm-it has
waste basket. (Bygate 1987: 16)
STYLES Of SPEAKING
An important dimension of conversation is using a style of speaking that is appropriate to the
particular circumstances. Different styles of speaking reflect the roles, age, sex, and status of
participants in interactions. Consider the various ways in which it is possible co ask someone the
time and the different social meanings that are communicated by these differences:
Got the time?
I guess it must be quite late now - is it? What's the time?
Do you have the time?
Would you know what time it is?
Could I trouble you for the time?
Lexical, phonological, and grammatical changes may be involved in producing a suitable style of
speaking, as the following alternatives illustrate:
Have you seen the boss? I Have you seen the manager? (lexical)
Whachadoin'? / What are you doing? (phonological)
Seen Joe lately? / Have you seen Joe lately? (grammatical)
38
Different speech styles reflect perceptions of the social roles of the participants in a speech event.
However, if the speaker and hearer are judged to be of more or less equal status, a casual speech
style is appropriate that stresses affiliation and solidarity. If the participants are perceived as being
of uneven power or status, a more formal speech style is appropriate, one that marks the
dominance of one speaker over the other. Successful management of speech styles creates the
sense of politeness that is essential for harmonious social relations (Brown an<l Levinson 1978).
Brown and Yule (1983) point out that speech in a casual conversational style is peppered with
general nonspecific words and phrases (e.g., the thing is, it's sort of..., the kind of thing, you know,
it's a bit like ... ,) and with interactive expressions (well, oh, mm: really, actually, yes, geez). This is
well illustrated in an extract from Svartik and Quirk's A Corpus of English Conversation (cited in
Wardaugh 1985: 202-3). The two speakers are male academics discussing the use of diaries in
language research.
A: I don´t know whether you have talked with Hilary about the diary situation
B: Well she has been explaining to me rather in more general terms, what you are sort of doing
and
A: What it was all about, yes.
B: I gather you've been at it for nine years.
A: By golly that's true. Yes, yes, it's not a long time of course, in this sort of work, you know.
B: Well no, but it's quite a long time by any standards
A: Yes, suppose so.
B: She told me what you did, and we decided we were both a bit out of date compared with the
present day students and
A: Well I suppose that that's true
The ability to produce this kind of casual conversational language as well as to produce language
appropriate for more formal encounters is an essential skill for second language learners.
CONVERSATIONAL ROUTINES
Another characteristic of conversational discourse is the use of fixed expressions or ”routines,"
which often have specific functions in conversation. Wardhaugh (1985: 74) observes:
There are routines to help people establish themselves in certain positions: routines for taking off and
hanging up coats; arrangements concerning where one is to sit or stand at a party or a meeting; offers
of hospitality; and so on. There are routines for beginnings and endings of conversations, for leading
into topics, and for moving away from one topic to another. And there are routines for breaking up
conversations, for leading into topics, and for moving away from one topic to another. And there are
routines for breaking up conversations, for leaving a party, and for dissolving a gathering… It is
difficult... to imagine how life could be lived without some routines.
Consider the following routines. Where might they occur? What might be their function within
those situations?
39
This one's on me.
I don 't believe a word of it. I don't get the point.
You look great today.
What will you have to drink?
Nearly time. Got everything?
Check please!
After you.
Guess I’ll he making a move.
I see what you mean.
Let me think about it. Just looking, thanks.
I’ll be with you in a minute.
It doesn't matter.
No harm done.
Pawley and Syder (1983) suggest that native speakers have a repertoire of thousands of routines
like these, and their use in appropriate situations creates conversational discourse that sounds
natural and nativelike. Conversational routines typically have to be learned and used as fixed
expressions, but at the same time, speakers must be aware that they cannot be used
indiscriminately, to avoid exchanges such as the following:
A: Thanks for the meal. A: Terry's father died.
B: It doesn't matter. B: What a nuisance.
The concept of fluency
The overall goal of a second language learner is to produce fluent speech; however, the notion of
fluency is difficult to pin clown. The European Threshold Level Project (Van Ek 1977; Van Ek and
Alexander 1980), for example, describes oral fluency in terms of "reasonable speech: with sufficient
precision: with reasonable correctness (grammatically, lexically, phonologically)." Fillmore (1979:
93) describes fluency in terms of ''the ability to fill time with talk ... the ability to talk in coherent,
reasoned and 'semantically dense' sentences" showing "a mastery of the semantic and syntactic
resources of the language"; "the ability to have appropriate things to say in a wide range of
contexts"; and the ability to "be creative and imaginative ...in language use." Hieke (1985: 140)
states that "fluent speech is the cumulative result of dozens of different kinds of processes" with
both quantitative and qualitative dimensions. Although fluency is a fuzzy concept, it is not an
unimportant one.
The concept of fluency reflects the assumption that speakers set out to produce discourse
that is comprehensible, easy to follow, and free from errors and breakdowns in communication,
though this goal is often not met due to processing and production demands. “The prime
objectives of the speaker is the generation of maximally acceptable speech in both content and
form and a concomitant minimization of errors by the time an utterance has been articulated"
(Hieke 1981: 150). Hieke proposes three conversational "maxims" that motivate the speaker:
1. Be Error-free (phonology and syntax)
2. Be intelligible (semantics, lexicon, logic, stylistics and rhetoric)
3. Be in Control of the Communication Channel (fluency, and in dyadic speech, also turn taking)
(1981: 151)
Accuracy (including control of grammar and pronunciation) is here seen as a component of
fluency, rather than as an independent dimension of conversational skill. The kind of discourse
speakers produce and the degree of fluency they achieve, however, depend upon the task the
40
speaker is attempting and the context for communication (i.e., whether the speech situation
involves face-to-face conversation, whether the speaker is taking part in an interview or a
discussion, or whether the speaker is involved in telling a story, giving a description, or replying to
a question).
For some tasks, such as telling a story, the speaker may have access to available plans or
schemas that reduce planning time and effort. The result may be that the discourse produced is
qualitatively different from discourse produced during spontaneous interaction. It may be less
hesitant, and the speaker may be able to plan larger units of discourse than are found in unplanned
conversational interaction. Holmes (1984) found that the types of clauses and pauses occurring in
storytelling tasks differed from those found in spontaneous interaction. Storytelling tasks "allowed
subjects to construct more integrated utterances, which have been largely thought out and
organized prior to their expression. The utterances are more planned, compared with the relatively
unplanned discourse of spontaneous speech, which lacks much forethought and preparation"
(Holmes 1984: 129).
Within a particular task type, however, such as storytelling, there may be variation between
a hesitant cycle and a more fluent cycle, the latter marked by a faster rate of speech and fewer
hesitations. Clark and Clark suggest that as the speaker begins a new idea, more detailed planning
is required, resulting in more hesitant speech. Once the speaker gets further into the idea or topic,
however, planning and execution require less effort. "Each new section in discourse takes special
global planning in the beginning, and this reveals itself in a hesitant output. As the section
proceeds, the global plan becomes complete, there is less need to hesitate, and the result is a
fluent output" (Clark and Clark 1977: 272).
Approaches to the teaching of conversation
Currently there are two major approaches to the teaching of conversation in second language
programs. One is an indirect approach, in which conversational competence. is seen as the product
of engaging learners in conversational interaction. The second, a more direct approach, involves
planning a conversation program around the specific microskills, strategies, and processes that are
involved in fluent conversation.
The indirect approach: teaching conversation through interactive tasks
The justification for a task-based approach to the teaching of conversation comes from second
language acquisition SLA) research. SLA researchers (e.g., Hatch 1978) have argued that learners
acquire language through conversation. In using conversation to interact with others, learners
gradually acquire the competence that underlies the ability to use language. Hatch (1978: 404)
puts the position in this way: “One learns how to do conversation, one learns how to interact
verbally, and out of this interaction syntactic structures are developed.”
Studies of conversational interaction have revealed a great deal about the nature of
nonnative speaker- to -native speaker conversational interaction, clarifying its role in second
language learning. For example, the discourse found in conversation between nonnative speakers
and native speakers is usually syntactically less complex than NS-NS discourse, with a higher
frequency of more regular grammatical structures and vocabulary. This should make
41
comprehension easier for the nonnative speaker. There are characteristic patterns of question use.
Questions are more frequent than statements, drawing the nonnative speaker into conversation
and allowing the native speaker to check comprehension at the same time; Native speakers ask
more Yes/No questions than Wh-questions, presumably because Yes/No questions are easier to
answer. Questions may also contain their own answers (e.g., "Are you working or are you on
vacation?"), providing the nonnative speaker with a model for the expected answer. These kinds
of conversational modifications are believed to assist the second language learner's language
development. Pica comments,
In sum, what enables learners to move beyond their current interlanguage receptive and expressive
capacities when they need to understand unfamiliar linguistic input or when required to produce a
comprehensible message are opportunities to modify and restructure their interaction with their
interlocutor until mutual comprehension is reached. (1987:8)
Through the kinds of linguistic and interactional modifications and adjustments learners receive
when engaged in conversation, the grammatical structure of the language is displayed more
clearly and made more accessible. Comprehension is assisted and the learner is able to experiment
with the internal mechanisms of the language. As a direct result of this process, SLA researchers
argue, linguistic competence gradually emerges.
The conclusion drawn from this view of the relationship between conversation and second
language learning is that the conversation class should primarily provide opportunities for learners
to engage in natural interaction through the use of communicative tasks and activities. It is not
necessary or even possible) to teach, conversation in any real sense; all that is needed is provision
of opportunities for learners to engage in conversational interaction. In practical terms, this leads
to the use of pair-work and group-work activities that require learner-to-learner interaction. Tasks
most likely to bring this about involve information sharing and negotiation of meaning (Johnson
1982). The focus is on using language to complete a task, rather than on practicing language for
its own sake. According to long and Porter (1985: 207), "Provided careful attention is paid to the
structure of tasks students work on together, the negotiation work possible in group work makes
it an attractive alternative to the teacher-led, 'lockstep' mode, and a viable classroom substitute
for individual conversations with native speakers...
However, there are obvious limitations to an exclusively task-based approach to teaching
conversation. Higgs and Clifford, for example, report experience with foreign language teaching
programs in the U.S. government and elsewhere:
In programs that have as curricular goals an early emphasis on unstructured communication
activities - minimizing, or excluding entirely, considerations of grammatical accuracy - it is possible
in a fairly short time to provide students with a relatively large vocabulary and a high degree of
fluency… These same data suggest that the premature immersion of a student into an unstructured
or "free" conversational setting before certain fundamental linguistic structures are more or less in
place is not done without cost. There appears to be a real danger of leading the students too rapidly
into the “creative aspects of language use," in that if successful communication is encouraged and
rewarded for its own sake, the effect seems to be one of rewarding at the same time the incorrect
communication strategies seized upon in attempting to deal with the communication strategies
presented. (Higgs and Clifford 1982: 73-4)
42
Although Higgs and Clifford offer no data to substantiate this claim, Schimdt and Frota (1986: 281),
describing a case study of Schimdt’s own acquisition of Portuguese through "immersion,” similarly
report that "interaction with native speakers provided input that sometimes leads to language
learning, but interaction guaranteed neither grammaticality nor idiomaticity." Schmidt found that
his Portuguese was deficient both with respect to grammar and appropriateness, and that further
interaction with native speakers did not appear to remedy this. Similarly, in a study of ESL learners
interacting with each other on communicative tasks, Porter (1986) found that learners often
produced inappropriate forms. In learner-to-learner communication, 20% of forms produced were
grammatically faulty (not including errors of pronunciation). Others were sociolinguistically
inappropriate, such as inappropriate ways of expressing opinions, agreement, and disagreement.
"These findings ... suggest that only native speakers (or perhaps very advanced nonnative speakers)
can provide truly appropriate input that will build sociolinguistic competence” (Porter 1986: 218).
Alternatively, the study suggests that although communicative tasks may be a necessary
component of a conversation program, they are not a sufficient component.
Another limitation of a task-based approach to teaching conversation relates to the kind of
interaction such tasks typically involve. An examination of the communicative activities commonly
employed in task based teaching (e.g., Klippel 1984; Pattison 1987) reveals that they typically deal
only with the transactional uses of language. Communication and pair-work activities often focus
on using conversation to convey information, to negotiate meaning, or to complete a task but
ignore the use of conversation to create social interaction and social relations. interactional uses
of conversation are very different in both form and function and the kinds of transactional
language found in task-oriented communication, and should have a central place in a conversation
program. In order to ensure that this happens, a direct attempt to teach strategies for
conversational interaction is also needed.
Direct approaches: teaching strategies for casual conversation
A direct approach to teaching conversation is one that focuses explicitly on the processes and
strategies involved in casual conversation. The program hence addresses directly such aspects of
conversation as strategies for turn-taking, topic control, and repair; conversational routines;
fluency; pronunciation; and differences between formal and casual conversational styles.
Designing such a program begins with the preparation of goals, samples of which are:
How to use conversation for both transactional and interactional purposes
How to produce both short and long turns in conversation strategies for managing turn-
taking in conversation, including taking a turn, holding a turn, and relinquishing a turn
Strategies for opening and closing conversations
How to initiate and respond to talk on a broad range of topics, and how to develop and
maintain talk on these topics
How to use both a casual style of speaking and a neutral or more formal style
How to use conversation in different social settings and for different kinds of social
encounters, such as on the telephone, at informal and formal social gatherings
43
Strategies for repairing trouble spots in conversation, including communication breakdown
and comprehension problems
How to maintain fluency in conversation, through avoiding excessive pausing. breakdowns,
and errors of grammar or pronunciation
How to produce talk in a conversational mode, using a conversational register and syntax
How to use conversational filters and small talk
How to use conversational routines
Table 1 The use of objectives in program planning
ORAL INTERACTION Fam
ily id
en
tifi
cati
on
So
cial co
nta
cts
Ran
kin
g s
erv
ices
Em
plo
ym
en
t
Healt
h
Ho
usi
ng
Th
e law
En
tert
ain
men
t
Po
stal se
rvic
es
Safe
ty
Sh
op
pin
g
Tra
nsp
ort
Ch
ild
care
use appropriately conversational formula
for greetings, salutations, leave taking,
indicating lack of comprehension,
requesting repetition, etc.
respond to requests for factual
information
offer and ask for help
indicate likes and dislikes
state basic conceptual meanings, e.g.
numbers, time, dates, quantity,
location, etc.
ask about likes and dislikes
describe entities, objects or individuals
maintain simple conversations on
familiar topic
make arrangements involving
time/location
conduct simple telephone transaction
on familiar topic
respond to a number of related
questions for advice or opinion
express agreement and disagreement
give a sequence or oral
instructions/directions
respond to requests for clarification
describe a sequence of events
Reprinted with permission from Nunan (1985: 29).
44
In program planning and development, each goal can be described in more detail as an objective
or set of objectives, according to the level of language proficiency the program addresses and the
specific needs of the learners. For example Nunan (1985) describes the use of objectives grids in
program planning. These allow general objectives for different aspects of oral skill to be cross-
referenced to different topic areas (Table 1). Each objective can be specified in more detail by
describing the kind of interaction to be taught and the performance level! that is expected. For
example:
Level: basic
Objective: respond to requests for factual information
Content area: personal and family identification
Specific objective: the learner will provide personal information in a simulated interview with a
government official
Standards: responses to be comprehensible to someone used to dealing with second
language learners
Evaluation: the student will perform in a simulated interview with a teacher from another
class
(Nunan 1985: 24)
A related approach is given in Omaggio (1986), who provides an example of a curriculum planning
guide for speaking skills at the intermediate level (see Appendix).
Whatever approach to goal and syllabus specification is adopted, recognition of these kinds
of goals is an essential starting point in developing an effective conversation program, and
provides a basis for the design and selection of classroom activities and materials.
Classroom activities and materials
A number of attempts have been made to classify exercises and activity types according to the
aspects of conversational management and production they focus on (e.g. Littlewood 1981;
Harmer 1983). Littlewood 1981, for example, distinguishes four main kinds of activities:
Precommunicative activities Communicative activities
Structural activities Functional-communicative activities
Quasi-communicative activities Social-interactional activities
Precommunicative activities are those that deal with controlled practice of formal aspects of
conversation, and include drills, dialogues, and other exercises where little learner input is required.
The distinction between functional communicative activities and social-interactional activities is
similar to Brown and Yule's distinction between transactional and interactional uses of
conversation.
A wide variety of exercise types and classroom materials are available for teaching different
aspects of conversation. There are materials that deal both with the global dimensions of
conversation as well as specific aspects of conversational management. Texts such as Person to
Person (Richards and Bycina 1984), Functions of American English (Jones and von Baeyer 1983),
45
and English Firsthand (Helgesen, Brown, and Mandeville 1987), for example, take the global
approach. Others deal with particular conversation skills. Gambits (Keller and Taba-Warner 1976),
for example, deals with strategies for opening and closing conversations as well as with specific
conversational routines used in managing turn-taking and topics. Task-based activities such as
those described in Brown and Yule (1983) deal with transactional uses of language and the
production of longer turns. Ur (1981) deals with discussion skills; Holden (1981), Livingstone (1983),
and Jones (1983) with role play and simulations; and Klippel (1984) and Pattison (1987) with
communication activities.
In developing classroom materials and activities, it is necessary to monitor their use in the
classroom in order to determine which aspects of conversation they practice. In Richards (1985),
this approach is described in relation to the development and use of role-play activities. In
developing a set of role-play materials for use with a class of intermediate-level ESL learners, a
range of topics and transactions was first selected covering both transactional and interactional
uses of conversation. Role-play activities were then planned around each topic based on the
following design format:
1. Learners first take pan in a preliminary activity that introduces the topic and the situation, and
provides some background information. Such activities include brainstorming, ranking
exercises, and problem-solving tasks. for example, as preparation for a role play on renting an
apartment, students first interview each other about their accommodation and living
arrangements. They also perform a ranking task in which they list the things that would most
influence in their choice of an apartment. The focus is on thinking about a topic, generating
vocabulary and related language, and developing expectations about the topic. This activity
prepares learners for a role-play task by establishing a schema for the situation.
2. Students then practice a dialogue on the topic (e.g., a conversation between a person looking
for an apartment and a landlord). This serves to model the kind of transaction the learner will
have to perform in the role-play task, and provides examples of the kind of language that could
be used to carry out the transaction.
3. Learners perform a role play, using role cards. Students practice the role play several times, in
different roles and with different partners. For example:
Student A (Caller)
You want to rent an apartment. You saw this advertisement in the newspaper.
George Street
Large modern apartment
Only $600 a month
Tel. 789-6445
Call to find out more about the apartment. Ask about these things:
the bedrooms the neighborhood
the view nearby transportation
the furniture nearby shopping
the floor it’s on
Ask anything else you want to know.
Find out when you can come and see it.
46
Student B (Landlord)
You have an apartment to rent. You placed this advertisement in the newspaper.
George Street
Large modern apartment
Only $600 a month
Tel. 789-6445
A person telephones to ask about the apartment. Answer the person’s questions. (See Richards
and Hull 1987.)
4. Learners then listen to recordings of native speakers performing the same role play from the
same role-play cues. By having learners listen to NS versions of the tasks they have just
practiced, students are able to compare differences between the ways they expressed particular
functions and meanings and the ways native speakers performed. Although the NS versions are
more complex than the student versions, they are comprehensible because of the preparatory
activities the students have completed, and they can be used for follow-up and feedback
activities.
5. Feedback and follow-up activities consist of listening for specific conversational and
grammatical forms (idioms, routines, structures) used by the native speakers in their versions
of the role plays, as well as listening for meaning.
In order to determine the kinds of conversational practice the role-play tasks provided, data were
collected on the type of conversational interaction and discourse students produced when
completing the role-play tasks (Richards 1985b; Hull 1986). Among the features of Conversational
interaction students were found to employ were repairs, requests for clarification, short and long
turns, openings and closings, topicalization behavior including strategies for topic nomination and
topic change, use of polite forms, and politeness strategies. Repairs showed that students were
monitoring their production for vocabulary, grammar, and appropriateness.
Conclusions
In planning a conversation program, an understanding of the nature of conversation and
conversational interaction is a necessary starting point. Two complementary approaches to the
teaching of conversation are currently advocated and employed in program development and
methodology: an indirect approach, which focuses on using communicative activities to generate
conversational interaction, and a direct approach, which addresses specific aspects of conversational
management. A balance of both approaches would seem to be the most appropriate
methodological option. Although communicative tasks that focus on the transactional uses of
conversation provide useful language learning opportunities, methodology should also address the
nature of casual conversation and conversational fluency, particularly turn-taking strategies, topic
behavior, appropriate styles of speaking, conversational syntax, and conversational routines.
Instructional materials and activities should be planned to focus on these aspects of casual
conversation, and monitored to determine their effectiveness in promoting conversational fluency.
47
Discussion topics and activities
1. Interview several teachers of conversation skills. What do they see the primary purpose of
a conversation class to be? What aspects of conversation do they spend most time on in
class? What kinds of activities do they use and how often? What do they see the greatest
difficulties in teaching a conversation class to be?
2. Try to observe (or overhear) a casual conversation between a native speaker and a
nonnative speaker, or between two nonnative speakers. What kinds of turn-taking
strategies do the nonnative speakers use?
3. Discuss the notions of accuracy and fluency. Do you agree that accuracy is a component
of fluency, rather than a separate dimension? How can accuracy be addressed in a
conversation program?
4. Examine the list of goals for a conversation program on pages 42-44. What additions or
deletions would you want to make to the list?
5. Choose two other skills listed by Nunan in Table 1. Prepare statements of objectives for
each skill, using the format given by Nunan shown on page 44.
6. Choose a conversational task or activity from a second language text and try it out (either
with classmates or with second language learners). Record the students doing the activity.
Then listen to the recording and determine which aspects of conversational' management
the activity improves. Does the activity focus primarily on transactional' or interactional
skills? Could the design of the activity be improved?
7. Plan and try out classroom activities that focus on (a) turn-taking, (b) conversational
routines, and (e) differences between formal and informal styles.
48
Speaking Towards Autonomy
Criteria for speaking tasks
In order to maximize speaking opportunities and increase the chances that learners will experience
autonomous language use, the following conditions need to be met:
• Productivity - a speaking activity needs to be maximally language productive in order to
provide the best conditions for autonomous language use. If students can do an information
gap task by simply exchanging isolated words, or if only a couple of students participate in
a group discussion, the tasks may hardly justify the time spent setting them up. This is also
the case, of course, if learners are speaking mainly in their L1.
• Purposefulness - often language productivity can be increased by making sure that the
speaking activity has a clear outcome, especially one which requires learners to work
together to achieve a common purpose. For example, the aim of having to reach a jointly
agreed decision can give a discussion more point and encourage the participation of all
members. Requiring learners to report to the class on their discussion is also an effective
way of ensuring a greater degree of commitment to the task. A competitive element -such
as turning the task into a race -can also help.
• Interactivity - activities should require learners to take into account the effect they are
having on their audience. If not, they can hardly be said to be good preparation for real-life
language use. Even formal, monologic speaking tasks such as talks and presentations should
be performed in situations where there is at least the possibility of interaction, e.g. where
there is an audience present, one which can demonstrate interest, understanding, and even
ask questions or make comments at the end.
• Challenge - the task should stretch the learners so that they are forced to draw on their
available communicative resources to achieve the outcome. This will help them experience
the sense of achievement, even excitement, that is part of autonomous language use. Of
course, if the degree of challenge is too high, this can be counterproductive, inhibiting
learners or reducing them to speaking in their L1. The teacher needs to be sensitive to the
degree of difficulty a task presents individual learners and to adjust the task accordingly.
49
• Safety - while learners should be challenged, they also need to feel confident that, when
meeting those challenges and attempting autonomous language use, they can do so without
too much risk. The classroom should provide the right conditions for experimentation,
including a supportive classroom dynamic and a non-judgmental attitude to error on the
part of the teacher. Also, learners need to be secure in the knowledge that the teacher - like
a driving instructor - will always be there to take over if things get seriously out of hand.
• Authenticity - speaking tasks should have some relation to real-life language use. If not, they
are poor preparation for autonomy. Of course, many classroom activities - such as drills and
language games - can be justified on the grounds that they serve the needs of awareness-raising
or of appropriation. But, in order to become autonomous, learners will need to experience a
quality of communication in the classroom that is essentially the same as communication outside
the classroom. This means that they will, at times, need to perform in real operating conditions,
e.g. spontaneously, unassisted, with minimal preparation, and making do with their existing
resources. It also means that the kinds of topics, genres, and situations that are selected for
speaking tasks bear some relation to the learners' perceived needs and interests.
Feedback and correction
It is often a delicate decision as to how to provide learners with feedback on their errors when
their attention is primarily focused on the content of what they are saying, rather than on the way
they are saying it. Interrupting learners 'in full flight' to give them corrections seems to run counter
to the need to let them experience autonomy. If the teacher is constantly intervening to assist their
performance, whether by providing unknown words or correcting their errors, they can hardly be
said to be self-regulating. And it may have the counterproductive effect of inhibiting fluency by
forcing learners' attention on to accuracy.
Nevertheless, many teachers feel uncomfortable about 'letting errors go', even in fluency
activities, and there is support for the view that maintaining a focus on form - that is, on formal
accuracy - is good for learners in the long run. It is important, therefore, that such a focus should
be effected at minimal cost to the speaker's sense of being in control. In the following extract, the
teacher's corrections, while explicit, are unobtrusive, and these are picked up by the learners with
no real loss of fluency:
Learner 1: And what did you do last weekend?
Learner 2: On Saturday I went on my own to Canterbury, so I took a bus and I met (Learner 6) - he took the
same bus to Canterbury. And in Canterbury I visited the Cathedral and all the streets near the
Cathedral and I tried to find a pub where you don't see - where you don't see many tourists. And
I find one
Teacher: Found
Learner 2: I found one where I spoke with two English women and we spoke about life in Canterbury
or things and after I carne back
Teacher: Afterwards
Learner 2: Afterwards I carne back by bus too. And on Sunday what did you do?
Learner 1: Oh, er, I stayed in home
Teacher: At home
Learner 1: On Sunday I stayed at home and watched the Wimbledon Final ...
50
In the above extract, the teacher's interventions are economical and effective, and the
conversational flow is not threatened. However, it could be argued that such overt monitoring
deprives the learners of opportunities to take more responsibility for their own monitoring and
self-repair. This is especially the case with regard to their mistakes, as opposed to their errors. By
mistake is meant the learners' momentary failure to apply what they already know, due mainly to
the demands of online processing. An error, on the other hand, represents a gap in the speaker's
knowledge of the system. Mistakes can usually be self-corrected, but errors cannot. A deft hint to
the learner that they have used a present verb form instead of a past one, for example, may be all
that is needed to encourage self-correction. And self-correction, even if prompted by the teacher,
is one step nearer self-regulation and the ultimate goal of full autonomy.
Sometimes, however, the learner's message is simply unintelligible, and some kind of more
obtrusive intervention is necessary to repair the breakdown. In this case, an intervention that is
perceived by the learner as repair is likely to be less inhibiting than one that is perceived of as
correction. Repair is facilitative, while correction can be construed negatively, as judgmental. For
example, in this extract, the teacher's intervention takes the form of a conversational repair, one
that is consistent with the meaning-orientation of the interaction:
Learner: ... so I phone the doctor and ask for a consulta…
Teacher: I'm sorry? A what?
Learner: I ask for a, er, for see the doctor. An appointment?
Teacher: Yes, ask for appointment
If it is the learners themselves who are interacting, it may be the case that the other learners can
initiate the repair. This is more likely if the design of the task is such that mutual understanding is
necessary if the task outcome is to be achieved. In a describe-and-draw task, for example, where
one learner describes a picture to another, who has to reproduce it, a breakdown in
communication should normally force some kind of repair process. Otherwise the task would never
be completed. It is important, therefore, that learners are equipped with the language with which
to initiate repair, such as Sorry, could you say that again? I didn't get that and What do you mean,
X? Many teachers ensure these expressions are available to students by having them permanently
displayed as posters on the classroom wall.
An alternative to on-the-spot correction is to postpone it until the end of the activity. This
means that the teacher needs to keep a record of errors while the speaking activity is in progress.
These can either be given to individual learners as 'feedback notes', or dealt with orally in open
class. In either case, it is generally more motivating if the learner's successes as well as their failures
are recorded. One way of doing this is in the form of a feedback sheet, as in this example:
51
Name: Teresa
Task: Telling an anecdote
Things I liked: Points to note:
1. The bar was completely empty 1. sitting at a table (not 'on')
2. description of the woman 2. no one apart from us (not 'of')
3. use of past continuous: 'the bag was hanging on
the chair...'; 'You thought I was trying to ...' (but
see 3 opposite)
3. we didn't pay attention (not 'take'), and better
in continuous: 'we weren't paying attention'
4. she sit she sat
5. she get up she got up
6. to steal your wallet (not 'rob')
7. how can you think this of me (not 'from')
General comments: You established the situation and characters well, and used direct speech to dramatic
effect. Watch irregular verbs in past! (sat, get etc.). Also use 'said', not 'told', with direct speech: she said
'You thought I was...' etc.
Alternatively, recording learners on audio or video provides a useful record of their speech for
subsequent analysis and improvement. Asking learners to make their own transcriptions of these
recordings and to suggest ways of improving them yields positive results, both in terms of what
they notice and also in terms of subsequent performances.
Presentations and talks
Whether or not learners will have to give presentations or talks in 'real life', the experience of
standing up in front of their colleagues and speaking for a sustained turn is excellent preparation
for real-life speaking. This is especially the case if they also have to respond to questions from the
floor. The following ideas belong to this category of speech event:
Show-and-tell - asking learners to talk and answer questions about an object or image of special
significance to them works well for all age groups and at all but the most elementary levels. Show-
and-tell can be established as a regular feature of lessons, with learners taking turns and knowing
in advance when their turn is due. The talk itself need be no more than two or three minutes, and
unscripted, although the use of notes can be permitted. Extra time should be allowed for asking
questions. Suggestions for topic areas can include such things as hobbies, sports, holidays, family,
and work, but the focus should be on a specific object or image. For students who are unfamiliar
with this format, it is a good idea if the teacher models a show-and-tell herself.
Did you read about ...? - this is a variant of 'show-and-tell' and can be done in small groups
rather than to the whole class. The stimulus is 'something I read in the paper or heard on the
news' rather than an object. If all learners know that this is an obligatory lesson starter, they are
more likely to come prepared. In groups, they take turns to relate their news item to the rest of
the group. The most interesting story in each group can then be told to the class as a whole.
Academic presentations - students who are studying English for academic purposes are likely
to need preparation in giving academic presentations or conference papers. In advance of
practicing these skills in class, it may help to discuss the formal features of such genres as well
as identifying specific language exponents associated with each stage. (Having an example
presentation on videotape or audiotape would, of course, be extremely useful.) A checklist of
52
features, along with useful expressions, can be displayed as a poster in the classroom, and this
can be modified over time as students take turns giving their presentations and discussing their
effectiveness. For example, a group of mixed native speaker and non-native speaker graduate
students in Canada, who each had to give an oral academic presentation (OAP) about a research
paper they had read, carne up with the following key features of such presentations:
• The OAP should contain a concise summary, a thoughtful and well- balanced critique, and
a list of relevant implications.
• Presenters should engage and evoke interest in the audience.
• Presenters should have an effective delivery style.
• Presenters should manage time well.
Business presentations - the same principle, that of peer presentations in conjunction with
collaborative analysis and critical feedback, works effectively with business presentations as
well. One way of reducing the pressure of solo performance is to ask learners to work in pairs
on the preparation of the presentation and to take turns in its delivery. It is important to allow
a question-and-answer session at the end since this is invariably the most challenging stage of
a presentation. The 'audience' should be given a little time at the end of the presentation to
prepare their questions. This in turn could be followed by some discussion as to the strengths
and weaknesses of the presentation. Alternatively, the presenters can be asked to reflect on,
and evaluate, their own performance. The following checklist is a good example of how an
evaluation could be structured. It comes as part of a sequence in which students practice the
introduction stage of a presentation:
If possible record yourself. When you play back your introduction, use the checklist below to help
you evaluate your presentation.
Checklist Yes/ No Example phrases
• Did you explain to the audience:
- Who you are?
- Why you are speaking?
• Did you include a statement of purpose?
• Did you include signposting?
• Did you relate presentation to the needs of the audience?
• How did you involve the audience?
• Did your opening remarks include:
- a participatory activity?
- a question to the audience?
- surprising/unusual facts?
One problem with student presentations is the question of how to maintain audience interest.
Setting the other students some kind of task is one way round this. A checklist, like the example
above, could also serve equally well as a listening task. Alternatively, the other students could
be set the task of coming up with at least three questions to ask, or of taking notes with a view
to making a short summary of the presentation.
53
Stories, jokes, and anecdotes
Storytelling is a universal function of language and one of the main ingredients of casual
conversation. Through their stories learners not only practice an essential skill, but they can also
get to know one another: we are our stories. The neurologist Oliver Sacks, in The Man Who Mistook
His Wife for a Hat, writes:
Each of us is a singular narrative, which is constructed continually, unconsciously by, through, and in us -
through our perceptions, our feelings, our thoughts, our actions; and, not least, our discourse, our spoken
narrations. Biologically, we are not so different from each other; historically, as narratives - we are each of
us unique.
Narration has always been one of the main means of practicing speaking in the classroom,
although this used to take the form of having learners recount folk tales, or amusing or dramatic
incidents based on a series of pictures. More recently, the value of encouraging learners to tell
their own stories has been recognized, and course books now include personalized narrating tasks,
whether monologic or dialogic, as a matter of course. See figure 1 and 2.
Anecdote Think about a lucky or an unlucky experience you have had. You are going to tell your partner
about it. Choose from the list below the things you want to talk about. Think about what you
will say and what language you will need.
⃝ Was it a-lucky or unlucky experience?
⃝ When did it happen?
⃝ When were you?
⃝ Who were you with?
⃝ What were you doing?
⃝ What happened?
⃝ Why was it lucky (or unlucky)?
⃝ How did you feel after wards? 1
2 A MAKING CONVERSATION
The first time
In pairs, A choose two 'first times'. Tell B about what happened. B listen and ask for more
information. Swap roles.
A. I’m going tell you about the first time I drove a car. I was staying in the country with my uncle
and he had an old Renault 4…
B. How old were you?
The first time I …
bought a record or CD
went to a live concert
smoked a cigarette
fell in love
travelled by plane
went abroad
drove a car
saw a lot of snow
earned some money
had to go to hospital
54
Other ideas for storytelling-based activities are:
Guess the lie - learners tell each other three short personal anecdotes, two of which are true in
every particular, and the third of which is totally untrue (but plausible!). The listeners have to
guess the lie - and give reasons for their guesses. They can be allowed to ask a limited number
of questions after the story. It helps if the teacher models this activity in advance of the learners
doing it.
A variant of this idea is to guess who a story originated from. See how the idea is developed in
a course book:
Insert the word - learners are each given a card with an unusual word or expression - perhaps
one that has come up recently in class - which they keep secret. They then take turns telling
each other an anecdote in which they incorporate their 'secret item' as unobtrusively as
possible. At the end of each telling, the others have to guess what the word or expression was.
Chain story- in groups, the learners take turns to tell a story, each one taking over from, and
building on, the contribution of their classmates, at a given signal from the teacher.
Party jokes - learners first each learn and rehearse a joke that has a narrative element. They
then simulate a party, standing up and milling, and exchanging jokes in pairs or groups of three.
They should first be taught some basic joke-framing expressions, such as Did you hear the joke
about…? and That reminds me of the joke about .... The repeated practice that they get telling
their jokes fulfils an important function of good speaking tasks. At the end of the activity the
class can vote on the best joke.
Drama, roleplay, and simulation
Speaking activities involving a drama element, in which learners take an imaginative leap out of
the confines of the classroom, provide a useful springboard for real-life language use. Situations
that learners are likely to encounter when using English in the real world can be simulated, and a
greater range of registers can be practiced than are normally available in classroom talk. For
example, situations involving interactions with total strangers or requiring such face-threatening
speech acts as complaining and refusing, can be simulated with relatively low risk. Formal language
that would not normally occur in the classroom context can be practiced. Moreover, simulation
and artifice suit the temperament of certain learners, who may feel uncomfortable 'being
themselves' in a second language. On the other hand, there are also learners who feel self-
conscious performing in front of their peers, especially if this involves a degree of improvisation,
and care has to be exercised in choosing and setting up such activities so as not to make even
more demands on them than speaking in another language normally requires. Just as in the real
theatre, a preparation stage, including rehearsal, is generally recommended in advance of public
performance.
A distinction can be made between role-plays and simulations. The former involve the
adoption of another ‘persona’, as when students pretend to be an employer interviewing a job
applicant or celebrities mingling at a party. Information about their roles can be supplied in the
form of individualized role-cards. For example:
55
Father Mother Son
You are an ex-hippie and have
brought up your son (now 18)
according to your progressive,
left-wing values.
You often have to mediate
between your husband and
your 18- year-old son.
You have decided to join the
army, and you
are now going to tell your
parents.
In a simulation, on the other hand, students 'play' themselves in a simulated situation: they might
be stuck in a lift or phoning to arrange an outing, for example. A more elaborate simulation might
involve the joint planning and presentation of a business plan. Drama is the more general term,
encompassing both role-play and simulation, as well as other types of activities, such as play-
reading, recitation, and improvisation.
What follows is a selection of drama activity types, chosen because they are potentially highly
language productive, can be adapted to different levels of proficiency and for different topics, and
because they allow learners to experience autonomy in the speaking skill. They also have the added
advantage of requiring few or no materials, and hence can be set up spontaneously and in most
teaching contexts:
Alibis - this classic activity has a game element, in that the participants have to try and outwit
each other, and can be played several times with no loss of interest. The basic format starts with
two students being 'accused' of having committed some crime, such as a robbery in the
institution where the class takes place, in a fixed period, say between the hours of 10 and 11 in
the morning on the preceding day. The two 'accused' then have to establish an alibi, and they
go out of the room to do this. The alibi needs to account for their actions only during the time
period in question (anything before or after is irrelevant), and it is important to establish that
they were together for all that time. While the accused contrive their alibi, the rest of the class
can prepare generic questions, with the teacher prompting, if necessary, of the type: What were
you doing ... ? What did you do next? Did you meet anyone? What did you say? How much did it
cost? Who paid? etc. The accused are then led in, one at a time, and have to answer the questions
put to them. (It helps to establish the rule that they are not allowed to claim that they don't
remember.) Any significant discrepancy in their answers means that they are, of course, guilty.
With large classes, the activity can also be done in groups, each group playing their own version
of the game. Alternatively (and so long as they are out of earshot), the two accused can be
interviewed simultaneously by two different groups, and then exchange places.
A variant is 'Green Card', in which immigration officers interview, separately, two candidates
who claim to be members of the same family (in which case, they have to answer questions about
the other members of their immediate family - their name, age, and appearance) or who claim to
be partners (in which case, they have to answer questions about their daily routine). Here is a
course book version of the same idea.
56
Get talking
9 In groups of 4, roleplay an immigration interview.
Students A and B: Turn to page 86. Students C and D: Turn to page 89.
Lesson 38, Exercise 9, Students A and B
1. You are a married couple.
B is from another country. Immigration officers are going to interview you and you have five
minutes to prepare for the interview. Work together to make sure you give the same information
about:
• how long B has been in the country
• how long you've known each other
• where you met
• your wedding
• your jobs
• what you do in your free time
2. Student A: Answer Student C's questions.
Student B: Answer Student D's questions.
3. Discuss your interviews. Do you think you gave the same answers?
Lesson 38, Exercise 9, Students C and D
1. You are immigration officers.
A and B are married. B is from another country and you don't think it's a real marriage. You are
going to interview the couple and you have five minutes to prepare for the interview. Work
together to prepare questions to ask them. You will ask both A and B the same questions, about:
• how long B has been in the country
• how long they've known each other
• where they met
• their wedding
• their jobs
• what they do in their free time
2. Student C: Ask Student A your questions.
Student D: Ask Student B your questions.
3. Compare A and B's answers. Are they telling the truth?
Another variant of 'Alibis' is 'UFO', in which two people are interviewed separately about an alleged
encounter with aliens.
Shopping around -this role-play has an inbuilt repetitive element, and is a variant of the
'carousel' idea, in which pairs of students visit every 'shop' before making a decision as to which
one to patronize. The class is divided into two: one half are the customers and the other are the
providers. These are further subdivided into pairs. The situation itself can vary to suit whatever
theme is appropriate. For example, the customers might be parents looking for a particular kind
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of school for their special needs child; the providers represent different schools. In their pairs,
the parents first decide what features the school they are looking for should have. Meanwhile
also working in pairs, the schools each devise a policy, with regard to such things as discipline,
the curriculum, uniforms, sports, and so on. (It is important, however, that the school fees are
the same for each school: the mere cost shouldn't be a deciding factor.) When everyone is
ready, each set of parents interviews one of the schools. They then move round one, and
interview the next school, and so on, until all the parent pairs have interviewed all the school
pairs. The parents are then ready to make their decision as to which school they prefer, while
the schools can decide which parents they prefer. Each group reports their decision -and the
reasons -to the class.
Variants include: choosing a package holiday; choosing a language course; choosing
flatmates; choosing a wedding venue; and so on. A version of this basic format can also be used
to role-play job interviews, as in this example:
The Inquiry - an inquiry has been set up to gather evidence and opinions about some
miscarriage of justice or consumer complaint. Different interest groups are represented, and
they put their case to a team of independent investigators in an open forum. The situation
might be a disastrous package holiday, a housing estate that is plagued with problems, a badly
governed village, and so on. After the situation has been established, the different interest
groups brainstorm their problems, while those responsible try to anticipate these and muster
counterarguments. The panel of arbitrators - two or three students - prepares questions to ask
the complainants. Each interest group then puts its case, and time is allowed for the groups to
counter each other's arguments. Finally, the arbitrators make a ruling.
Variant: the same format can be used for 'The Tender', in which different interest groups
submit their proposals for a project. The project might be the development of an open space
in the middle of a town, or how best to provide energy for a village, or the design of a
commemorative stamp or monument, for example. 'The Heart' is another variation, in which
representatives of patients needing life-saving surgery make their case: profiles of each
candidate will need to be prepared.
The Soap - learners plan, rehearse, and perform (and, if possible film) 7" an episode from a
soap opera. The soap opera could be based on a well-known local version, or on a selection of
magazine pictures of people who become the 'characters'. The advantage of using the soap
opera format is that learners can draw on a shared stock of melodramatic situations but are not
compelled to come up with a clever ending. And, of course, they can continue the story by
inventing subsequent episodes.
With regard to this last idea, Charlyn Wessels, an EFL teacher in Scotland, describes how she
structures a whole term's work around drama techniques, culminating in the production of a full-
length play based on the class's improvisations. One such play was a soap opera, generated by the
learners themselves through brainstorming activities.
Students write detailed profiles of the characters they are going to play, and then the story is
built up through a series of improvisations and scripted. Work is done on pronunciation as well as
using drama techniques to improve performance. After the final performance one student
commented, 'I've improved my English, had fun, and I've got to know my friends much better -
what more can I ask of a course?'
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Discussions and debates
Many teachers would agree that the best discussions in class are those that arise spontaneously,
either because of something personal that a learner reports or because a topic or a text in the
course book triggers some debate. Here, for example, a teacher describes how one such discussion
erupted in a class of Catalan teenagers:
I was trying to get attention at the beginning of the class but two of the girls were so deeply engrossed
in a conversation in Catalan that it was proving even more difficult than usual. Finally, 1 said to these two
girls that if their conversation was really that interesting they should tell the rest of the students, in English,
what they were talking about. One of the girls proceeded to tell the class about a girl at her school who
was wreaking havoc by telling lies about people and generally being very destructive. The rest of the
students listened with good attention, then asked questions, made suggestions, and the conversation
developed for the next twenty minutes or so.
In this case, the teacher knew how to take advantage of the students' concerns, and tum this into
a discussion activity in English. In the absence of such opportunities, however, it is useful to have
a store of techniques for setting up discussions in a more formal way. Here are some generic
discussion formats.
Discussion cards- the teacher prepares in advance sets of cards (one for each group) on which
are written statements relating to a pre-selected topic. In their groups, one student takes the
first card, reads it aloud, and they then discuss it for as long as they need, before taking the
next card, and so on. If a particular statement doesn't interest them, they can move on to the
next one. The object is not necessarily to discuss all the statements: the teacher should decide
at what point to end the activity. Groups who have finished early can prepare a summary of the
main points that have come up. These summaries can be used to open up the discussion to the
whole class. The topic may, for example, be fashion, and the statements to discuss might include
the following:
Fashion is universal. Fashion is an art form.
People should not be judged by what they wear.
Fashion is simply a way of making people spend money.
Fashion celebrates diversity.
The fashion industry is unethical.
etc.
Alternatively, the discussion points could be phrased as questions, with a view to eliciting a
more personal response, such as:
How important is the label on an item of clothing?
How often do you shop for clothes?
Would you wear - or have you worn - second-hand clothes?
How would you describe your style of dress?
etc.
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There is, of course, no reason why the learners shouldn't be able to prepare the cards themselves,
especially they are about a topic they have experience in or have been reading about. Groups then
prepare a set of cards and exchange them with other groups.
Warm-up discussions - when introducing a new topic or preparing learners to read or listen
to a text, it is common to set a few questions for pair or group discussion, followed by a report
back to the whole class. These discussion questions may target general knowledge about the
topic (in which case they could be set as a homework research task) or some personalized
response to the topic.
Balloon debate - this popular format is based on the idea that a hot air balloon with its cargo
of passengers is dangerously overloaded and at least one of the passengers has to be
jettisoned. The group members, representing famous people in history, famous living people,
or people in different professions, put their case as to why they should be saved and why
someone else should be sacrificed. This works best if students have had time to prepare their
case, and this can be done in pairs. For example, if there are enough students to form two
'balloons', matched pairs from each balloon first work together, before re-forming in order to
stage the debate.
Pyramid (or Consensus) debate - the principle of this format is that at first individuals work
in pairs to achieve consensus on an issue, and then these pairs try to convince other pairs,
before forming groups of four, and so on, until the whole class comes to an agreement. For
example, the teacher might set the class the task of devising some 'class rules' with regard to
such things as classroom etiquette, discipline, duties, homework etc. First, individuals draft a list
of a maximum of, say, eight rules. They then compare in pairs, and draft a new list of eight rules,
that they are both agreed on. This will normally involve some discussion and negotiation. Once
they have their list, they join forces with another pair, and the process begins again. Finally, the
two halves of the class come together to agree on the definitive version.
Other ideas that work well in this format are ranking tasks - e.g. the five most important
people in history; the ten best pop songs of all time; the eight things I would take to a desert
island; the six school subjects that should be compulsory, and so on. Or students take a bare
statement and qualify it in such a way as to make it acceptable. For example:
Children should be beaten.
Smoking should be banned.
Anyone should be allowed to adopt children.
The same principle – of reaching some kind of consensus - can be used with more imaginary
situations, such as the following:
A party for all time
Work in groups:
You can hold a party for eight guests from today or history.
• Which eight people will you invite and why?
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• Who will be the 'guest of honor'? i.e. The most important guest?
• What will the seating arrangement at the dinner table be?
• What will the menu be?
• You can ask ONE guest ONE very important or personal question only. Who would you ask,
and what would your question be?
Panel discussions - these adopt the format of a television debate in which people representing
various shades of opinion on a topic- such as some locally relevant issue - argue the case,
usually under the guidance of a chairperson. One way of organizing this is to let students first
work in pairs to marshal their arguments, then one of each pair takes their place on the panel,
while the others form the audience - who can, of course, ask questions once the panelists have
stated their point of view. It helps if the classroom furniture is organized to represent a real
panel discussion. It also works better if learners are allowed to choose their point of view
themselves, rather than having to voice an opinion they may not be party to. However, some
sensitive topics work best if the activity is set up as a role-play (see above) and participants are
given clearly defined roles (e.g. police officer, psychiatrist, single parent, social worker etc.). They
can then 'hide behind' these roles. In large classes, the panel discussions can take place
concurrently in groups, with the teacher monitoring between therm.
As a final comment, discussions will work much better if learners are equipped with a repertoire of
expressions for voicing strong agreement, strong disagreement, and all the shades of opinion in
between. These could be available on posters around the room and regularly reviewed and topped
up. Some useful expressions include:
Expressing an opinion: Conceding an argument:
lf you ask me, ...
(Personally), I think ...
If you want my opinion, ...
Perhaps you're right.
OK, you win.
You've convinced me.
Strong agreement: Hedging:
Absolutely
I couldn't agree more.
I totally agree.
I agree.
I take your point, but ...
Yes, but ...
Qualified agreement: Strong disagreement:
That's partly true.
On the whole, yes.
I'd go along with that.
I don't agree.
On the contrary ...
I totally disagree.
Conversation and chat
Attitudes to classroom conversation and casual chat have varied over the years. In the heyday of
audiolingualism, one writer, Louis Alexander, warned that 'the traditional "conversation lesson" is
61
of no value at all if the student is not ready for it ... . The student must first be trained to use
patterns in carefully graded aural/oral drills. Only in this way will he finally learn to speak.' The chat
stage of the lesson, if it occurred at all, was simply there as a curtain raiser to the main event - the
controlled practice of sentence patterns. Until recently, one London language school was still
advising its students that 'the teacher and the student must not chat during the lesson. They must
only ask and answer the questions in the book. Chatting is a waste of time.'
Such a view sits uncomfortably with the finding that conversation, i.e. casual talk that is
primarily interpersonal, is by far the most common and the most widespread function of speaking.
Moreover, there is a school of thought that argues that, in L1 acquisition, the development of
conversational skills precedes the development of language itself As Evelyn Hatch put it, 'language
learning evolves out of learning how to carry on conversations', i.e. out of learning bow to
communicate. By extension, it has been argued that conversation in a second language is not the
result of language learning, but it is the site where learning occurs.
It is also, of course, a fact that many language learners feel that their most urgent need is to
develop conversational competence, and they regularly choose 'conversation' as their principal
objective when answering needs analysis surveys. For this reason, many language schools offer
'conversation classes' as a way of complementing more traditional, grammar focused, classes.
However, these offer a challenge to teachers and course designers since it is difficult to plan or
programme something as inherently unstructured and spontaneous as casual conversation. As
one writer puts it, 'genuine conversational interactions cannot be the outcome of planned lesson
agendas, they have to emerge - and so, by definition, cannot be planned.'
One way that teachers get round this is to organize conversation classes around a set of
themes. Ideally, these should be negotiated with the learners in advance, through the use of a
questionnaire or by means of a consensus debate, as outlined in the section above. Theme-related
texts can be used to trigger conversation, either in open class or in groups. Or individual students
take turns to make a short presentation on the pre-selected topic, which is then followed by open
discussion. Pre-planned lesson content can take the form of teaching useful conversational
formulas and routines, such as how to open and close conversations, how to interrupt, change the
subject, ask for clarification, and so on. Or the focus could be on the teaching of communication
strategies, such as paraphrasing, using vague language, and pause-fillers (see page 29).
Alternatively, conversation 'lessons' can be incorporated into normal classwork. One teacher
in the USA, Gisela Ernst, describes how she does this through the use of what she calls talking circles:
The talking circle is a total group activity that generally takes place at the beginning of the 45-min
conversational English class. Almost every day, teacher and students gather in the talking circle to share
and discuss experiences, anecdotes, news, special events, introduce the weekly theme, and the like.
Although the teacher might open the discussion by suggesting a general topic, the overriding assumption
is that the talking circle provides a place and an audience for students to discuss anything of interest to
them.
This assumes, of course, that the classroom dynamic is such that learners are prepared to 'share
and discuss experiences'. In order to create the right conditions for such exchanges, it often pays
to start with more structured activities which incorporate an element of personalization. Here are
three such activities:
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Sentence star - the learners each draw a five-pointed star on a piece of paper. The teacher asks
them to write on the tip of the first point can, on the second point like, on the third point have,
on the fourth point used to, and on the fifth point going to. (These prompts can of course be
varied according to the level of the class, the syllabus etc.) Individually, they then write true
sentences about themselves using each of the five words on their star, following the teacher's
example, e.g. I can speak a little Portuguese. In pairs or small groups, they take turns to read
each other their sentences. The others in the group have to ask at least five questions about
each of the sentences (e.g. Where did you learn Portuguese? How well can you speak it? Can you
write it? etc.). In a final, open-class stage, people can report on interesting things they have
learned about their classmates.
True/false sentences - the teacher dictates about five or more sentences to the class. If desired,
at least some of the sentences can embed a specific grammar structure, although this is not
necessary. For example:
Ever summer I go somewhere different.
Last year I went to Peru.
I have never been to Brazil.
I haven't been to Colombia, either.
I’d like to go to Guatemala.
etc.
The teacher tells the class that some of the sentences are true and some are false. They work in
pairs to try and guess which are which and then report their guesses, with reasons. Then,
working individually, and using the dictated sentences as a model, they write some true and
false sentences about themselves and take turns to guess which sentences are true or false in
pairs or small groups.
One of us/Some of us - the teacher writes the following sentence starters on the board:
One of us can …
Two of us can …
Three of us can …
All of us can …
None of us can ...
(Again, the grammar structure embedded in these prompts can be adapted.) The learners are
organized into groups of four and asked to generate as many true sentences about their group
as possible in, say, ten minutes, using the above sentence starters. A spokesperson from each
group reports some of the group's sentences, and these can be used as the basis for an open-
class question-and-answer stage. For example:
Spokesperson: One of us can play the guitar.
Teacher: Oh really, let me guess who that could be? Ernesto, is it you … ?
etc.
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The above activities can help break the classroom ice, but little or no conversation will be
possible in the classroom unless the teachers can demonstrate their willingness to be
conversational partners, too. This will mean, at times, relinquishing their traditional pedagogic
role in order simply to talk to the learners.
Traditional IRF exchanges may 'cramp' the learners' conversational style. At times, therefore,
it may be useful if teachers hand over at least some of the question asking to the learners. Here,
for instance, is a short extract from a lesson where the teacher is simply engaging with her
teenage ESL learners conversationally:
Teacher: You watched the Hero and the ... where. and the where?
Keiko: Weirdo.
Teacher: And the weirdo ... Hero and the Weirdo ... I've never heard of that movie ... . Is it scary?
Keiko: Yeah, scary .... You like?
Teacher: Tan? Did you want to say something? Is there a movie that you like?
Tan: Scary movie.
Teacher: You like scary movies? I think everyone likes scary movies.
Keiko: Oh, you like?
Teacher: No, I don't like them, but, I can only watch a couple, I get nightmares, I'm a baby.
Keiko: I know, I know, when you saw them, you scared when you sleep and then you scared they
coming and they beat you up.
Teacher: That's right, that's right ... Sometimes I get seared after watching a scary movie ... I have
nightmares.
Finally, many teachers have discovered the benefits of bringing guests into the classroom in order
to talk with learners. Apart from providing a new focus of interest, a guest can expose learners to
a different accent and vocal style and, especially if the guest is not a teacher, can provide
experience interacting in ways that more naturally reflect real-life communication. A simple
technique that works well is to ask learners to prepare a few questions in advance. They then
'interview' the guest as a class, allowing the guest's answers to fuel further questions. They can
then write up a summary of the interview in pairs or small groups.
Outside-class speaking
Real autonomy is only achievable if learners can cope on their own in the real world. To ease the
transition from the classroom to the outside world, there are a number of things they can do
outside the class. For example:
Tape diaries - learners keep a taped diary by recording themselves regularly at home on
audiotape and submitting this to the teacher for feedback. One teacher describes how he set
this activity up:
Once a week, with certain exceptions, students were to make an entry in their journals by recording
themselves speaking in English for about three minutes ... The content of the recordings could cover
observations on topical events and issues, discussion of ideas and information received, or
consideration of any matters related to study or daily life. Students were advised to minimize hesitation
by organizing their ideas before approaching the recorder. After the entries were submitted to me, 1
recorded my responses and returned the tapes.
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This technique appears to suit some learners who may be timid about speaking in class, judging
by this extract from one of the taped journals:
Last time when we talked about Dead Poets Society, I didn’t have the courage to speak out in class.
Here I would like to share with you my opinions about the movie …
Moreover, preparing the journals allowed some of the learners to experience autonomous
language use, as this extract attests:
These days, because I have to make up several of my journal, I kept thinking about what to say and
how to say it in English and then I record my journals again and again. All day long, I am thinking in
English and speaking English. It seems that I am in the United States again.
If learners have access to voice mail, the recordings can be exchanged digitally, as email
attachments, saving a great deal of time and inconvenience. All that is required (apart from
online access) is a microphone and speakers, and an email program that supports voice mail.
This also allows the teacher to send written comments in the accompanying email. Comments
need not be exhaustive: it's probably enough to respond to the content of the recording (That
bit about your homestay family was interesting ...) and make a couple of suggestions.
Portfolios and diaries - asking learners to reflect on their out-ofclass speaking experiences is a
useful way of raising their awareness as to their strengths and weaknesses and also of monitoring
their progress over time. Moreover, by sharing these experiences with other learners they may be
motivated to try out strategies that seem to have worked for their colleagues. And, of course,
talking about language use is another way of practicing speaking. One way of sustaining this
reflection process is for learners to keep a journal or portfolio of their extracurricular language
use. Here, for example, is an extract from the journal of a Czech woman, Martina, who has
emigrated to Canada, in which she recalls her difficulties speaking on the phone:
The first time I was very nervous and afraid to talk on the phone. When the phone rang, everybody in
my family was busy, and my daughter had to answer it. After ESL course when we moved and our
landlords tried to persuade me that we have to pay for whole year, I got upset and I talked with him
on the phone over one hour and I didn't think about the tenses rules. I had known that I couldn't give
up. My children were very surprised when they heard me.
The idea of learners keeping a 'language biography' as part of a larger portfolio of language-
learning achievements is an essential feature of the European Language Portfolio, and its purpose
is described on the Council of Europe website:
The Language Biography facilitates the learner’s involvement in planning, reflecting upon and assessing
his or her learning process and progress; it encourages the learner to state what he/ she can do in each
language and to include information on linguistic and cultural experiences gained in and outside formal
educational contexts; it is organized to promote plurilingualism, i.e. the development of competencies in
a number of languages.
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The 'language biography' idea can be integrated into classroom activities in a less formal way, by
simply asking learners to share their experiences of outof-class language encounters. The
teacher's own stories - of embarrassments and successes using a second language - can provide
a useful model. They can also act as an indirect form of learner training - a way of feeding in
suggestions as to how to maximize speaking opportunities outside the classroom. Personal stories
of the kind 'When I was living in Peru, I organized a conversation exchange with one of my
neighbors ... ' are more memorable than any amount of well-intended theory.
Conclusions
In this reading we have:
• defined autonomy in speaking.
• looked at ways that opportunities for self-regulation in the skill of speaking can be
provided both in the classroom and outside it.
• discussed why tasks should be productive, purposeful, interactive, challenging, safe, and
authentic.
Classroom speaking activities that require a degree of autonomy include:
• giving presentations and talks
• telling stories, jokes, and anecdotes
• drama activities, including role-plays and simulations
• discussions and debates
• conversation and chat
Feedback on such activities needs to be handled sensitively so as to respect the learners' need to
experience autonomy, but, at the same time, to provide a useful feedback loop for the
improvement of subsequent performance. Feedback that is offered as 'repair' may be less
inhibiting than overt correction.
Finally, we looked at ways learners can take responsibility for developing their speaking skills
outside the classroom, including the use of taped dialogues, computer-mediated communication,
and reflective journals and portfolios.
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Making lessons interesting,
meaningful and memorable
When you think of a favorite teacher, the chances are that you remember the stories that they told
and the way that they enabled you to understand difficult concepts by relating them to meaningful
real-world experiences. Having activities which meet learning objectives is all well and good, but
a good context transforms a seemingly random set of exercises into a memorable learning
experience for children.
In ICT we have some of the most exciting stories to tell in terms of ingenuity, progress and
possibility. No other subject is transforming our world so rapidly and completely. And yet some
ICT lessons are pedestrian (dare we say boring?) They miss the big picture and concentrate on
skills without a context.
To make lessons meaningful and memorable, there are two key aspects to consider - first,
the contexts you use within lessons that enable pupils to see why the current topic is important
and second, the teaching technique or devices to keep them interested and engaged.
Context: the big picture
A 'big idea' makes planning learning experiences straightforward. Although the major concept for
every child is the same, you can easily plan several ways to approach learning the same concept.
Toe context serves as an anchor for the unit or lesson you are planning to differentiate. Even if you
decide to take different students on varying paths of learning, they will all end up at the same
point with an understanding of the same major concept.
Throughout this reading we have tried to describe and exemplify how teachers can use a
context to make learning meaningful and interesting. Many example lessons use ideas which are
not interesting or realistic to children.
In asking our trainees what contexts they might use in ICT the topics of football and pop
groups are typically some of the first ideas to come to mind (usually aimed stereo typically at
boys and girls). Perhaps this partly reflects the IT lessons our trainees had as children and their
own generalized view of what school children as an amorphous body would like. When they begin
to consider individuals' interests within their own classes however, their views often change.
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Football and pop music may be interesting to some (perhaps the majority) of pupils, but what if
you are a pupil who has no interest- is there scope to do something different (and will you be
singled out because of it)? They can also reinforce gender stereotypes and, in terms of realistic
aspirations, how many of our pupils will be employed by the football or pop industries?
Projects that involve children as stakeholders in issues they care about can provide excellent
alternative contexts for learning ICT capability. Children are curious about a whole range of topics;
these might include environmental issues, self-awareness, identity, communication, relationships,
poverty, aspirations, learning and entrepreneurship. How do you find out what contexts will most
engage your pupils? Why not ask them? Find out their aspirations, the issues that concern them
and the ways in which they use (and would like to use) technology. In fact, this can become a
context in its own right - use a collaborative tool to record the ideas of all pupils. Then, either use
the common themes as contexts for further work, or, if there is disagreement, split the class into
groups and ask each to produce a time-limited presentation to state their case, or host an online
debate, followed by a class vote.
Ideally all our contexts will suggest an output that will be of interest to a real audience such
as teachers, politicians, other pupils or business people. Although it will not always be practical to
seek the intended audience's opinion on the finished work, we should try to do this wherever
possible.
Figure 1 demonstrates how an initially IT-focused activity has been broadened using a more
interesting and relevant context. Ali of these activities provide pupils with a real (or realistic)
context, a clear role to play which relates to the world outside school and an audience.
All the above ideas are quite ambitious and it may not be possible to show all the final
products to a real audience, but even the idea of a simulated context is a powerful motivator for
children - they understand why they are doing the learning. Collaboration is a focus of all the
contexts because children need this skill and they can achieve much more when working together
than duplicating each other's efforts. It does matter that you can distinguish their individual
contributions through self, peer and teacher assessment, and you need to think this through
carefully before setting off on a project, but this does not mean they all have to hand in the same
six-page report at the end of the topic.
Original activity Contextualized
Researching the law about
copyright.
Sharing or stealing?
Preparing for a court case or televised debate where half of the class
represent the music industry who want to prosecute the other half of
the class who have downloaded material via peer to peer sites.
Producing a website and
animated logo advertising our
school.
Be a games designer
In teams, produce a hypertext-based adventure game with branching
choices to be used for Year 6 open evenings. Each page should
contain a simple animation to set the scene along with story text and
links to other pages for each choice to be made.
Produce a survey of pupils'
hobbies, analyze the results and
produce a report.
Train the teachers
Survey and analyze the ICT skills of our teachers. Plan an after-school
club for a one-hour session to teach them the essential skills they
need in a new technology, e.g. blogging, podcasting, SMS texting.
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Make a cars database, feed in
some data and then answer these
queries ...
Be a campaigner
Produce a database of environmental issues within your town, e.g. a
wildlife survey, identifying pollution hotspots, litter issues or
availability of recycling facilities. Pupils collect data from their local
areas, input to a database and extract key statistics to form a
persuasive case for change for a councillor or MP. Could also export
the postcodes and descriptions as Google Earth Placemarks and plot
these on a map.
Use the Internet to research and
produce a booklet about the
solar system.
Be an expert educator
Plan a 10 -minute video-conferencing activity which will teach Year 5
pupils about the solar system. Either record and edit an offline
version or perform the event to a live audience via a video link.
Collect data about height and
shoe sizes. Produce graphs.
Be a researcher
Look at how a real context affects pupils then extend this to look at
local and global impacts. So, for example, taking the environment as
a context, they could examine their own energy use, carbon footprint,
quantity of waste produced or water use. They could then extrapolate
the class data to look at total impact by the developed world and
take a global viewpoint by examining data/case studies and debating
an issue, e.g. implications of frequent flooding.
Figure 1 Contextualizing activities
A strong advocate for using real-world contexts in ICT lessons is Alex Savage. His CommunICTy
website, wiki and blog provide inspiring real classroom examples that integrate ICT capability,
global citizenship, environmental issues and self-reflection. See the companion website,
www.sagepub.co.uk/secondary for links.
Instead of creating a model for an imaginary zoo, our students research all the ways they use water
during an average day and calculate how much they actually use ... We then tell them that the water
budget for a child at our link school in Malawi is only 20 liters. They then interrogate the model to
find out ways to reduce their water budget. This really engages the students, as they are keen to find
out how much water they use and the importance of using less. (Savage, 2007a)
Alex has also re-contextualized existing lesson plans so that, for example, students do not merely
produce the sometimes bland 'All about me' presentations so ubiquitous in Year 7. Instead the
work is embedded into the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) curriculum. First, using
a strong visual cue- the Emotions Tree- children consider how their attitude and character is made
up of strengths and weaknesses (see Figure 4.9). Through a collaborative blog they share their
thoughts with others and then use the results to create an interactive presentation using a
common template. To add an international dimension the school twinned with Apeejay School in
New Delhi who also undertook the project and contributed to the blog.
You can imagine the cries of excitement when my students were reading their comments and found
phrases written by Nikita, Dhruv, Eashan and their classmates in India! They were also surprised to
find out how similar they felt about school life in both countries ... There has been a marked difference
in the engagement of my students in creating presentations about their emotions towards school life
rather than their families and hobbies ... Often in ICT, we concentrate more on how to create a product
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rather than the message that it is trying to communicate. However, 1 am convinced that allowing
students appropriate time to generate quality content on a theme that is relevant to their own lives
leads them into producing a better end product and consequently better progress. (Savage, 2007b)
Teaching techniques
When you picture a teacher, they are probably stood at the front of a room, telling a class
something interesting. Perhaps this is how you imagine yourself in the classroom.
'When I'm with my
friend I feel really
happy and enjoy
myself loads.
I love being around my
friends because I trust
them and they know
Ioads about me.'
Figure 2 The Emotions Tree project - Year 7. Each set of characters on the main page is hyperlinked to a
zoomed-in view and pupils' comments such as those on the right
Instructing, telling, showing or demonstrating are certainly important techniques. How you convey
information is as important as what you say, as in this example:
As part of a lesson about the impact of technology Yasmin (an NQT) displays and reads out a slide
(Figure 3).
The class seem to be listening - at least they're all looking in her direction. However, she's
unsure whether they have really understood the concept. Her head of department suggests a
different approach which she tries out next lesson using an adapted quotation (Figure 4).
Reflection point
We hope that you agree that the second approach is both more engaging and memorable; you may
even feel like telling someone else this amazing fact. Why is this? You could argue that the first
approach gives more information in a more concise form.
Spend a few moments now reflecting on why the second approach is more successful.
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Figure 3 Yasmin's original approach
Yasmin collects the class' feedback on the board and then reveals her answer.
Figure 4 Developing an idea to make it meaningful and memorable
Yasmin uses a number of techniques to make this learning memorable. The combination of these
techniques moves the teacher's role from being a provider of facts to being a facilitator of learning.
The class moves from relying on being told information to actively trying to work out the
implications of the question. Yasmin does this by simplifying the original information and then
using an analogy with a real-world context (car production) to help pupils grasp the concept. She
adopts a question-based approach, structured to give all pupils time to think, and she tells the
class something amazing and memorable which will help them remember the key idea. The next
Technology - the pace of change
These things double approximately every 2 years:
• the number of transistors on a chip
• the amount of computing power for the same cost
• the amount of storage capacity for the same cost.
Technology - the pace of change
Suppose for a moment that cars had
developed at the same rate as computers
over the last 30 years.
• What would be different about the
cars we use today?
• You have 30 seconds to think
about this question on your own.
• You have 1 minute to discuss it
with your partner.
Changing technology
• For the same price, computing
power and storage capacity double
every 2 years. This means...
Changing technology
'Today you would be able to buy a Rolls-
Royce for £1 .35, it would do three million
miles to the gallon, and it would deliver
enough power to drive the Queen
Elizabeth II [a cruise ship]. And if you
were interested in miniaturization, you
could place half a dozen of them on a
pinhead.'
Evans, (1979)
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section presents these and other common techniques that you can use in combination when
planning and teaching a lesson.
A common theme that runs throughout is the idea that we are trying to help children make
sense of a complex world by constructing a narrative, experience or example which links their
current knowledge with the new information or skills. If we do not bridge this gap effectively they
learn facts or skills in isolation that they may be able to repeat, but cannot make use of in new
situations. There is a continuum of practice when linking our teaching to everyday experience. At
one end of the spectrum we will literally be talking about a situation that is familiar to them, for
example visiting a supermarket. At the other end of the spectrum are highly imaginative, role-play
activities such as Newspaper Days where pupils assume the role of editors, journalists and
typesetters.
Simplify layers of complexity
Most learning is sequential - we need to understand one concept before we are ready for the next
(and we probably need some time in between to internalize the concept and test it in the real
world). In the previous example we see how Yasmin simplifies the complexity of the pace of change
in technology by using a headline example. In fact the picture is much more complex. She could
have explained that computing power is closely related to the number of transistors packed onto
a microchip and that the architecture of the circuits is also a major factor. She could have gone on
to discuss the implications of parallel or distributed processing, developments in organic
computers and the fact that the rate of change is not smooth over a short time period. Clearly this
would be too much information in a short space of time for the class; at the moment, knowing a
little about the rate of change and possible implications is sufficient. Over the years in which
Yasmin teaches these children she will expand and modify the original description.
Often it is useful to tell pupils when you are simplifying a complex concept: 'This isn't quite
how it works in the real world, but it will help you to understand for now.'
We must be wary of oversimplifying a concept. For example, beginning teachers may say
that good web-page design is merely choosing the right colors, fonts and images. In fact we can
show pupils some initial design concepts (using the language of visual design) and then ask them
to evaluate existing pages and use the principles in their own work.
Build from basic principles
Pupils can often tell you some facts about a topic, but may not have the underlying concepts to
really understand what they mean. Using questioning we can take them back to the basic concepts
and lead them to tell a story that links what they know with what it means. Here is Yasmin again
teaching about data storage media:
Scenario
The whiteboard contains the title 'Measuring Memory'.
Yasmin: Can anyone tell me what these two objects are? Hands up. (She holds up a floppy disk
and a CD)
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Luke: Miss, is it a DVD and a floppy disk?
Yasmin: Well done, Luke, in fact this is a CD, but they do look identical. Now a trickier question
- approximately how much information can the floppy disk hold?
After various guesses, the class settle on about 1 megabyte.
Yasmin: OK, it is about 1 megabyte, but what on earth does that mean? What does 'mega' mean
- it is a number?
Derren: Is it a million, Miss?
Yasmin: Excellent answer, Derren, so a floppy disk contains a million bytes, now who can tell me
what a byte is?
Asif: Is it a bit?
Yasmin: No, though a byte is made up of bits - we won't worry about that for now.
Jane: Is it a memory?
Yasmin: It is a way of measuring how big memory is, but there's an easy way to think about how
big a byte is. I'll give you a clue - there are 16 bytes on the board.
Asif: It's a letter.
Yasmin: Excellent, a byte is equivalent to a letter, or a ...?
Jane: A number.
Yasmin: Exactly - a letter or a number, or a punctuation mark or any key-press - what do we call
those things altogether?
Luke: A character, Miss.
Yasmin: Brilliant! So a byte is equivalent to a character and a floppy disk holds a million bytes -
that means you could sit at your keyboard and type a million letter 'Ns and they could
comfortably be saved on a floppy disk.
Something amazing
There are many amazing stories to tell and things to show pupils in ICT if you look for them.
Yasmin extends her discussion on storage capacity by illustrating just how much information can
be stored in a very small space.
Scenario
Yasmin: OK, so we know a floppy disk can hold about a million bytes of data. AII of the seven Harry
Potter books put together have about 6.5 million characters (letters and spaces) in them. How
many floppy disks would I need to store them electronically?
Jane: Seven, Miss.
Yasmin: Exactly, Jane - that would be a bit more portable than the actual books. Now let's think
about the CD - how many floppy disks worth of information could I fit on here - have a guess, let's
go around the class?
After a game of higher and lower, the class come to a figure of 650 floppy disks.
Yasmin: That's right - a CD can hold about the same as 650 floppy disks or 650Mb. That's the same
as a stack of floppy disks about 2 meters high - taller than me. Or put another way, a CD could
73
hold 100 sets of all of the Harry Potter stories - a stack of those would be 30 meters tall, about the
same as seven double-decker buses!
Analogy
Sometimes the concept we are trying to explain does not relate directly to previous experience.
Analogy allows us to show how an unfamiliar concept is similar to an idea we do understand. We
can use analogy in different ways, first to present an idea:
Yasmin: A database is like a filing cabinet, all of the information, the FILE, is the same as the cabinet.
A RECORD is all of the information about one person or thing, like opening my filing cabinet and
pulling out a criminal record. An individual piece of information like 'Surname' is held in a FIELD in my
database.
Secondly, we could ask pupils to construct their own analogies:
• How is a hard-drive like a library?
• How is a computer network like a road network?
• How is a program like a recipe?
• How is a database like a filing cabinet?
• Describe encryption using locked boxes.
Analogies have their limitations and will usually break down as pupils scrutinize them - point these
limitations out to children as necessary. Finding the weaknesses in an analogy is a great way of
identifying real understanding in your pupils:
• How is searching a filing cabinet different from searching a database?
• How does a recipe differ from a computer program?
Embed the knowledge in the task
You can create a powerful learning feedback loop by asking pupils to transform what they have
learned so that it can be understood or used by others. For example if you want pupils to learn
some hypertext mark-up language (HTML) commands you could get them to create a web page
(using HTML) which describes to someone else how to use those HTML commands. So the finished
page might begin with:
My HTML guide
Writing HTML web pages is easy provided you know the commands - here is a list of the ones I
know about:
<B> makes text bold
<I> makes text italic
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The output of these tasks makes it easy for teachers to assess both skills and under standing,
particularly if the page goes on to describe why you might choose to use HTML over other web-
page creation software.
Other ways that you can embed the knowledge in the task include:
• writing a user guide.
• recording an animation demonstrating how to do the task
• making a quiz or game that tests others on the topic studied.
Personify the process or idea - anthropomorphism
Attributing human characteristics to a computer, device or process can help children understand
difficult concepts. Jason uses this idea when he asks pupils to imagine they are the computer inside
a washing machine. The following are examples of teachers using anthropomorphism:
• 'Kevin is the LOGO turtle. We are going to give him instructions to walk around the
classroom in a square. What commands might Kevin understand?'
• 'Someone has pressed the WAIT button at the pelican crossing. What will the computer
think next?'
• 'Imagine you are going to do the job of a temperature sensor in an arctic weather
monitoring station, you have a thermometer, a notebook and a watch.'
• 'Imagine you are an email message about to be sent around the world. The user presses
send - what happens to you next?'
• 'When I fill the formula down into the cells below they all go horribly wrong - why? What
is the computer thinking?'
Role play
This is a very similar technique to anthropomorphism. Whereas anthropomorphism asks children
to imagine they are objects or processes, role play asks them to imagine that they are taking on
the role of another human being, usually with a specific job. Role play does not have to involve
dramatic performance. Toe simple idea that today we are going to act like programmers, web
designers, scientists or hackers is enough to change the tone of a task. Of course, you may at times
want to include an element of drama, for example when having a debate about an issue. Teachers
can also play a role as in this example:
Yasmin: 'Good morning. Before we start today, I thought you might like to see this.' As she opens
a folder on the computer, she draws attention to a file 'Headteacher's star pupils'. 'Oops, Mrs.
Marshall must have put that in the wrong folder, shall we have a look?' She opens the document,
but it is password protected. 'Shall we have a guess, what do you think the password could be?'
After several guesses the pupils hit upon the correct answer - the school name backwards. A list
of pupil names appear. 'How come none of your names are in this folder? Do you think we should
add one of you to the list as a joke?' Having done this, she pauses dramatically. 'How many of you
have heard of the Computer Misuse Act - do you know how many years we could spend in jail for
75
doing what we just did?' She then explains that this was a simulation and gives the class enough
information for them to calculate the potential fine and jail sentence.
Mysteries and problem-solving
Mysteries can give children a chance to exercise their creative thinking skills. Typically, children are
presented with stimulus material which is incomplete, ambiguous or both, and asked to infer a
solution to an open-ended problem or question. As a teacher you can vary the parameters of the
task such as the source material, the opportunity for further research and the openness of the
question. Mysteries are a good way to allow a class to explore the complexities of an idea in detail.
They require careful management to ensure that individuals do not dominate the discussions and
to refocus the class if they become overly involved in peripheral issues. Examples include:
• Why is Frances Clipper losing money? Pupils are given some incomplete information about
an apparently successful hairdressing salon and propose answers to the question using
spreadsheet modelling.
• Why did the traffic accident occur? Pupils are given contradictory eyewitness statements
and access to some traffic-light control flow charts and have to figure out what went wrong.
• Is Mrs. Evans a fraudster? Pupils are given an electronic trail to follow of sales receipts, credit
card
• transactions and Mrs. Evans' testimony, and have to figure out whether she is a victim of
identity theft.
• Who committed the crime? Pupils compile a suspects database and conduct queries to solve
a variety of crimes from evidence collected at the scene.
• 'What if' scenarios. What if an electronic pulse bomb disabled all the microchips in our
town?
Of course, we can set smaller problems than the above in any ICT lesson, where we work with
children to solve the problem or answer the question rather than telling them the answer:
• 'Why is an international phone call expensive and an email virtually free (regardless of size)?'
• 'Why does more RAM make a computer operate faster?'
• 'Does a flash drive have a battery?'
• 'How can a jpg be physically larger (height and width) than a bmp image but smaller in
memory size?'
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Reading: The Procedural Syllabus and the Task Syllabus: How Similar, How Different?
Link: https://goo.gl/Uzm1Ud
Summary: The present paper aims to convince readers that the terms procedural and task
syllabuses are fundamentally different from each other. After reviewing the underlying
principles of these two syllabuses, it is contended that they both view pedagogic tasks as
the point of departure in designing second/foreign language courses. In spite of this
similarity, it is argued that these two syllabus types differ from each other in terms of task
selection, task gradation, task implementation, and input characteristics.
Reading: The Development of English Language Teaching (ELT) Competency-Based Syllabus in
Senior High School
Link: https://goo.gl/c3dMZP
Summary: The rise of competency-based syllabus launched by the Ministry of National
Education (2006) brought about significant issue among the English teachers in the country
(Indonesia). One of the crucial issues is that how to transfer the concepts of competences
into the syllabus design. Since a syllabus does not only contain a list of subject content, but
also how curriculum planners (teachers) reflect their understanding and belief about nature
of language and of language teaching and learning, the ELT must be carried out to achieve
communicative competence.
Reading: Types of English Syllabus; Choosing and Preparing the Right Materials
Link: https://goo.gl/ZxxsGF
Summary: In this article the authors synthesize the different the types syllabus and provides
practical ideas of teaching materials based on the particular characteristics of each syllabus.
It provides a brief description of the syllabus, plus additional steps leading towards,
designing, preparing and selecting materials accordingly. Finally, he discusses the possible
benefits or disadvantages of using such approach.
Reading: Teaching Conversational Skills - Tips and Strategies
Link: https://goo.gl/BNSFtB
Summary: Teaching conversational skills can be challenging as not only English skills are
required. English students who excel in conversation tend to be those with self-motivated,
outgoing personalities. However, students who feel they lack this skill are often shy when it
77
comes to conversation. In other words, personality traits that dominate in everyday life tend
to appear in the classroom as well. As English teachers, it's our job to help students improve
their conversational skills, but often 'teaching' is not really the answer.
Reading: A Discourse Approach to Teaching Oral English Skills
Link: https://goo.gl/1pTCir
Summary: This paper explores a pedagogical approach to teaching oral English- Conversation
Analysis. First, features of spoken language is described in comparison to written language.
Second, Conversation Analysis theory is elaborated in terms of adjacency pairs, turn-taking,
repairs, sequences, openings and closings, and feedback. Third, under the theoretical
framework of Conversation Analysis, a syllabus for improving learners’ oral English skills is
designed in consideration to learner profile, needs analysis and communicative events and
materials employed in teaching. And a teaching model is explored with reference to
Riggenbach (1999). Finally, two types of assessment are discussed to provide insights for
teachers on the effect of teaching and learning. All the issues discussed above will provide
teachers and scholars with a clear instruction on how to apply conversation analysis to
teaching oral English skills and the discussion will lead to the feasibility of applying a
conversation analysis approach to teaching learners’ oral English skills.
Reading: Evaluating the Appropriateness of Adopting a CLT Approach in an English Conversation
Classroom in Japan
Link: https://goo.gl/KoLkd2
Summary: This report evaluates the appropriateness and possibility of adopting a
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach in my current teaching environment. In
the first section, I offer three different but related conceptions of a CLT approach: as defined
with reference to features and principles inferable from CLT practices; as defined with reference
to the notion of ‘communicative competence’; and Ellis’s (1982) ‘informal’ approach. In the
second section I analyze my current teaching environment in terms of: institutional constraints;
student motivation; affective factors; and learning styles and culture. In the third section I
evaluate the appropriateness and possibility of adopting each of the previously discussed CLT
approaches in relation to the factors of my teaching environment previously analyzed. In the
fourth and final section, I conclude the report with a cautious view as to whether a CLT
approach should be further adopted in my current teaching environment.
Reading: Teaching Speaking – Conversational routines
Link: https://goo.gl/4oGawS
Summary: The mastery of speaking skills in English is a priority for many second-
language or foreign-language learners. Consequently, learners often evaluate their
success in language learning, as well as the effectiveness of their English course, on the
basis of how much they feel they have improved in their spoken language proficiency.
This articles cites some of the features of spoken discourse, and supports the
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implementing of ´conversational routines´ introducing fixed expressions into language
instruction.
Reading: Improving Students’ Speaking Skill through Communication Game, Recorded Role Play
and Peer Feedback
Link: https://goo.gl/fgwf53
Summary: This study aims to improve students’ speaking skills using the combined
strategies of communication game, recorded role play and peer feedback activities. This
action research took place at an English institution in Jakarta, Indonesia and collected the
data by observing the learning process with the collaborator, analyzing the video during the
class, making field notes, conducting tests (pretest and post-test) and interviewing students.
There were three cycles in this study. Results of the tests showed that students’ speaking
skills improved.
Reading: Using Video in the English Language Classroom-ICT
Link: https://goo.gl/cLg1XJ
Summary: Video is a popular and a motivating potential medium in schools. Using video in
the language classroom helps the language teachers in many different ways. Video, for
instance, brings the outside world into the language classroom, providing the class with
many different topics and reasons to talk about. It can provide comprehensible input to the
learners through contextualized models of language use. It also offers good opportunities
to introduce native English speech into the language classroom. Through this article I will try
to show what the benefits of using video are and, at the end, I present an instrument to
select and classify video materials.
Reading: How an LMS Supports English Language Teaching
Link: https://goo.gl/xzhqD9
Summary: this article explores the importance of using technologies that support English
Language teaching and learning. How webinar tools facilitate English Language Teaching,
and the role of Learning Management Systems in ELT. It also examines the best model of
training for ELT in the workplace.
Reading: The 5 EdTech trends of ELT part 5: Learning management systems
Link: https://goo.gl/s1kL1X
Summary: this article explores a bit of the history of Learning Management Systems and
Virtual Learning Environments. It walks the reader through the different options from the
oldest to the most recent ones. It also searches what the most renown ELT publishers are
doing with respects to LMS. Finally, it ponders some critical questions as to whether schools
have to buy or build their own management system tools.