王蔷主编的英语教学法教程第二版 Unit

王蔷主编的《英语教学法教程》-Unit-1第二版．Unit1LanguageandLanguageLearningAimsoftheunitInthisunitwewilldiscusssomegeneralmattersaboutlanguagelearningandteaching.Wearegoingtodiscussfivequestionsonparticular:1.Howdowelearnlanguage?2.Whatarethecommonviewsonlanguage?3.Whatarethecommonviewsonlanguagelearning?4.Whatarethequalitiesofagoodlanguageteacher?5.Howcanonebecomeagoodlanguageteacher?1.1Howdowelearnlanguages?Machofhumanbehaviorisinfluencedbytheirexperiences.Thewaylanguageteachersteachintheclassroomistosomeextentinfluencedbythewaytheylearnedlanguages.Thisisespeciallytrueinforeignlanguageteaching.Beforewediscusslanguagelearningtheories,letusfirstreflectonourownlanguagelearningexperience.Task1Belowisalistofinterviewquestionsonhowpeoplelearnaforeignlanguage.Inthefirstcolumn,writedownyourownresponses.Theninterviewthreeotherstudentsinyourclassandentertheirresponsesintheothercolumns.Discussyourfindingsingroupof4anddrawsomeconclusion.YouST1ST2ST31.Howmanyforeignlanguagescanyouspeaksofar?2.Whendidyoustartlearningtheforeignlanguage(s)?3.Howdoyoufeelaboutlearningaforeignlanguage?4.Whatdifficultieshaveyouexperiencedinlearning?5.Whichskilldoyoufindmoredifficulttolearn?6.Haveyoufocusedonknowledgeorskills?Why?7.Whydoyoulearntheforeignlanguage(s)?8.Doyouconsideryourselfasuccessfullearner?Why?9.Whatareyourmostcommonlearningactivities?10.Doyoulikethewayyoulearnedtheforeignlanguage(s)?Fromtheabovetask,youmayhavefoundthat1)peoplestartedlearningaforeignlanguageatdifferentages;2)peoplehavedifferentexperiencesinlearningaforeignlanguage,somefinditeasy,somefinditdifficult;3)peoplelearnlanguagesfordifferentreasons;4)peoplelearnlanguagesindifferentways;5)peoplehavedifferentunderstandingsaboutlanguagelearning;6)peoplehavedifferentcapacitiesinlanguagelearning;7)learningcanbeaffectedbythewayitistaught;8)learningisaffectedbythedegreeofsuccessoneisexpectedtoachieve;andmore.Thusthechallengeconfrontinglanguageteachingishowteachingmethodologycanensuresuccessfullearningbyallthelearnerswhohavemoredifferencesthanthecommonality.1.2viewsonlanguageThequestionthatallapproachestolanguageteachingshouldansweris,‘whatislanguage?'Theanswertothisquestionisthebasisforsyllabusdesigns,teachingmethodology,teachingandassessmentproceduresintheclassroom.Differentviewsonlanguagegeneratedifferentteachingmethodologies.Task2Workingroupof4.Brainstormpossibleanswertothequestion:whatislanguage?Whenyouareready,joinanothergroupandshareyourideas.Togiveaconcisedefinitionoflanguagehasalwaysbeendifficultforlinguistsandphilogists.Althoughtherehasbeenanenormousamountofresearchinlanguageinthepastcentury,noauthoritativeanswerhasbeengivento‘whatislanguage?'rather,peoplehavesettledowntotalkaboutviewsoflanguage,seeminglyallowingfororacceptingdifferenttheoriesforthemoment.However,languageteachersclearlyneedtoknowgenerallywhatsortofentitytheyaredealingwithandhowtheparticularlanguagetheyareteachingfitsintothatentity(Brown,1994a).forsampledefinitionof‘language',pleaserefertoAppendix1.StructuralviewThestructuralviewoflanguageseeslanguageasalinguisticsystemmadeupofvarioussubsystems(Larsen-Freeman&Long,1991):thesoundsystem(phonology);thediscreteunitsofmeaningproducedbysoundcombinations(morphology),andthesystemofcombiningunitsofmeaningforcommunication(syntax).Eachlanguagehasafinitenumberofsuchstructuralitems.Tolearnalanguagemeanstolearnthesestructuralitemssoastobeabletounderstandandproducelanguage.Whenthisstructuralviewoflanguagewascombinedwiththestimulus-responseprinciplesofbehavioristpsychology,theaudio-lingualapproachtolanguagelearningemerged.FunctionalviewInthe1960s,Britishlinguistsdevelopedasystemofcategoriesbasedonthecommunicativeneedsofthelearner(JohnsonandMarrow,1981)andproposedasyllabusbasedoncommunicativefunctions.Thefunctionalviewnotonlyseeslanguagesasalinguisticsystembutalsoameansfordoingthings.Mostofourday-to-daylanguageuseinvolvesfunctionalactivities:offering,suggesting,advising,apologizing,etc.therefore,learnerslearnalanguageinordertobeabletodowithit.Inordertoperformfunctions,learnersneedtoknowhowtocombinethegrammaticalrulesandthevocabularytoexpressnotionsthatperformthefunctions.Examplesofnotionsaretheconceptofpresent,pastandfuturetime,theexpressionsofcertaintyandpossibility,therolesofagents,instrumentswithasentence,andspecialrelationshipsbetweenpeopleandobjects.InteractionalviewTheinteractionalviewconsiderslanguagetobeacommunicativetool,whosemainuseistobuildupandmaintainsocialrelationsbetweenpeople.Therefore,learnersnotonlyneedtoknowthegrammarandvocabularyofthelanguagebutasimportantlytheyneedtoknowtherulesforusingtheminawholerangeofcommunicativecontexts.Thesethreeviewspresentaneverwiderviewoflanguage.Thestructuralviewlimitsknowingalanguagetoknowingitsstructuralrulesandvocabulary.Thecommunicativeornotional-functionalviewaddstheneedtoknowhowtousetherulesandvocabularytodowhateveritisonewantstodo.Theinteractionalviewsaysthattoknowhowtodowhatyouwanttodoinvolvesalsoknowingwhetheritisappropriatetodo,andwhere,whenandhowitisappropriatetodoit.Inordertoknowthis,youhavetostudythepatternsandrulesoflanguageabovethesentenceleveltolearnhowlanguageisusedindifferentspeechcontexts.Theunderstandingofthenatureoflanguagemayprovidethebasisforaparticularteachingmethod(RichardandRodgers,1986),butmoreimportantly,itiscloselyrelatedtotheunderstandingoflanguagelearning.Iflanguageisconsideredtohaveafinitenumberofstructuralitems,learningthelanguageprobablymeanslearningtheseitems.Iflanguageismorethanjustasystemofstructures,itismoreimportantlyatoolthentolearnthelanguagelearning.Iflanguageismorethanjustasystemofstructures,itismoreimportantlyatool,thentolearnthelanguagemeanstouseit,ratherthanjuststudywhatitisandhowitisformed.Thenextsectiondiscussessomecurrenttheoriesaboutlanguagelearning.1.3ViewsonLanguagelearningandlearningingeneralAlanguagelearningtheoryunderlyinganapproachormethodusuallyanswerstwoquestions;1)Whatarethepsycholinguisticandcognitiveprocessesinvolvedinlanguagelearning?2)Whataretheconditionsthatneedtobemetinorderfortheselearningprocessestobeactivated?Task3Workingroupsof4.Brainstormtheanswerstothetwoquestionsstatedabove.Whenyouareready,joinanothergroupandshareyourideas.Althoughthesetwoquestionshaveneverbeensatisfactorilyanswered,avastamountofresearchhasbeendonefromallaspects.Theresearchcanbebroadlydividedintoprocess-orientedtheoriesandcondition-orientedtheories.Process-orientedtheoriesareconcernedwithhowthemindorganizesnewinformationsuchashabitformation,induction,makinginference,hypothesistestingandgeneralization.Condition-orientedtheoriesemphasizethenatureofthehumanandphysicalcontextinwhichlanguagelearningtakesplace,suchasthenumberofstudents,thekindofinputlearnersreceive,andtheatmosphere.Someresearchersattempttoformulateteachingapproachesdirectlyfromthesetheories.Forexample,theNaturalApproach,TotalPhysicalResponse,andtheSilentWayarebasedononeormoredimensionsofprocessesandconditions.Atthislevel,itistooearlytoformulateaspecificapproach,becausesomeaspectsarestilltoovague,forexample,whatisdoneintheseprocesses.BehavioristtheoryThebehavioristtheoryoflanguagelearningwasinitiatedbybehaviouralpsychologistSkinner,whoappliedWatsonandRaynor'stheoryofconditioningtothewayhumanacquirelanguage(Harmer,1983).Basedontheirexperiments,WatsonandRaynorformulatedastimulus-responsetheoryofpsychology.Inthistheoryallcomplexformsofbehavior—motions,habitsandsuch—areseenascomposedofsimplemuscularandglandularelementsthatcanbeobservedandmeasured.Theyclaimedthatemotionalreactionsarelearnedinmuchthesamewayasotherskills.Thekeypointofthetheoryofconditioningisthat‘youcantrainananimaltodoanything(withinreason)ifyoufollowacertainprocedurewhichhasthreemajorstages,stimulus,response,andreinforcement'(Harmer,1983:30).Basedonthetheoryofconditioning,Skinnersuggestedthatlanguageisalsoaformofbehavior.Itcanbelearnedthesamewayasananimalistrainedtorespondtostimuli.Thistheoryoflearningisreferredtoasbehaviorism,whichwasadoptedforsometimebythelanguageteachingprofession,particularlyintheU.S.Oneinfluentialresultistheaudio-lingualmethod,whichinvolvesendless'listenandrepeat'drillingactivities.Theideaofthismethodisthatlanguageislearnedbyconstantrepetitionandthereinforcementoftheteacher.Mistakeswereimmediatelycorrected,andcorrectutteranceswereimmediatelypraised.Thismethodisstillusedinmanypartsoftheworldtoday.CognitivetheoryThetermcognitivismisoftenusedlooselytodescribemethodsinwhichstudentsareaskedtothinkratherthansimplyrepeat.ItseemstobelargelytheresultofNoamChomsky'sreactiontoSkinner'sbehavioristtheory,whichledtotherevivalofstructurallinguistics.ThekeypointofChomsky'stheoryisreflectedinhismostfamousquestion:ifalllanguageisalearnedbehavior,howcanachildproduceasentencethatneverbeensaidbyothersbefore?AccordingtoChomsky,languageisnotaformofbehavior,itisanintricaterule-basedsystemandalargepartoflanguageacquisitionisthelearningofthissystem.Thereareafinitenumberofgrammaticalrulesinthesystemandwithaknowledgeoftheseaninfinitenumberofsentencescanbeproduced.Alanguagelearneracquireslanguagecompetencewhichenableshimtoproducelanguage.ThoughChomsky'stheoryisnotdirectlyappliedinlanguageteaching,ithashadagreatimpactontheprofession.Oneinfluentialideaisthatstudentsshouldbeallowedtocreatetheirownsentencesbasedontheirunderstandingofcertainrules.Thisideaisclearlyinoppositiontotheaudio-lingualmethod.Althoughpeopleareprettymuchstillinthedarkastowhatlanguageisandhowlanguageislearned,itisbelievedthatgeneralknowledgeaboutlanguageandlanguagelearningwillhelplanguageteachersdoabetterjob.ConstructivisttheoryTheconstructivisttheorybelievesthatlearningisaprocessinwhichthelearnerconstructsmeaningbasedonhis/herownexperiencesandwhathe/shealreadyknows.Althoughconstructivisttheorywasnotdevelopedfortheunderstandingoflanguagelearning,itiswidelyapplicabletolearningingeneral.Itisbelievedthateducationisusedtodevelopthemind,notjusttoroterecallwhatislearned.JohnDeweyprovidedafoundationforconstructivism.Hebelievedthatteachingshouldbebuiltbasedonwhatlearnersalreadyknewandengagelearnersinlearningactivities.Teachersneedtodesignenvironmentsandinteractwithlearnerstofosterinventive,creative,criticallearners.Therefore,teachersmustbalanceanunderstandingofthehabits,characteristicsaswellaspersonalitiesofindividuallearnerswithanunderstandingofthemeansofarousinglearner'sinterestsandcuriosityforlearning(Archambault,1964).Socio-constructivisttheorySimilartoconstructivisttheory,socio-constructivisttheoryrepresentedbyVygotsky(1978)emphasizesinteractionandengagementwiththetargetlanguageinasocialcontextbasedontheconceptof‘ZoneofProximalDevelopment'(ZPD)andscaffolding.Inotherwords,learningisbestachievedthroughthedynamicinteractionbetweentheteacherandthelearnerandbetweenlearners.Withtheteacher'sscaffoldingthroughquestionsandexplanations,orwithamorecapablepeer'ssupport,thelearnercanmovetoahigherlevelofunderstandingandextendhis/herskillsandknowledgeandknowledgetothefullestpotential.1.4Whatmakesagoodlanguageteacher?Somepeoplewithanexcellentcommandofaforeignlanguagemaynotbeabletoteachthelanguagewellwhileotherswithageneralcommandofthelanguagecanteachitveryeffectively.Whatdoyouthinkmightaccountforthisphenomenon?Task4Workingroups.Reflectonyourownlearningexperiencefromearlyschoolyearstotheuniversity.HaveyouhadanexcellentEnglishteacher?TrytoidentifyasmanyqualitiesaspossibleofyourbestEnglishteacher(s).NotedownallthequalitiesthatyouthinkareimportantforagoodEnglishteacher.Itisclearthatwhethersomeonecanbecomeagoodforeignlanguageteacherdoesnotsolelydependonhis\hercommandofthelanguage.Thereareavarietyofelementsthatcontributestothequalitiesofagoodlanguageteacher.Theseelementscanbecategorizedintothreegroups:ethicdevotion,professionalqualitiesandpersonalstyles(Parrot,1993).Task5Ethicdevotion,professionalqualitiesandpersonalstylesjointlycontributetothemakingofagoodEnglishteacher.Alltheadjectivesintheboxbelowcouldbeusedtocharacterizethesethreeaspects.1.Workingroupsof4anddecidewhichadjectivesdescribeethicdevotion,whichdescribepersonalstylesandwhichdescribeprofessionalqualities.Pleasewriteyouranswersonaseparatepieceofpaper.2.Addanyadjectivestothelistwhichdescribefurtherqualitiesthatyoufeelaremissing.3.Theseadjectivesareintendedtodescribepositivequalitiesorstyles.Doyoufeelthatanyofthemcouldhaveanegativesideaswell?Ifyes,inwhatway?Forexample,anauthoritativeteachermaymakethestudentsfeelassured,butmayalsomakethestudentlessfreetodisagreewithhim\her.kinddynamicauthoritativehardworkingfairwell-informedcreativepatientreflectivewarm-heartedresourcefulattentiveintuitiveflexiblewell-preparedhumorousenthusiasticaccurateprofessionally-traineddisciplinedcaringParrot,,MartinforLanguageTeachers(AdaptedfromTasks1993)FromtheaboveactivitieswecanseethatagoodEnglishteachershouldhaveethicdevotion,certaindesirablepersonalstyles,andmoreimportantly,heorsheshouldhavenecessaryprofessionalqualities.ThesethreeaspectsconstituteahasApersonwhocompetenceprofessionalofagoodEnglishteacher.thegoodcommandofEnglishisnotnecessarilyagoodteacherbecausehehasonlyoneoftheelementsofprofessionalcompetence.anddevotion,teachershaveethicisassumedthatallresponsibleEnglishItwork.theircompatiblewithpersonalsupposedtomaketheirstylestheyareThesetwoaspects,whicharebeyondthescopeofthisbook,canbeachievedaslongastheteacherhimself\herselfhasthewillingnesstodoso.theloveandIIlikemyjob,is:Aquestionthatmanyteachersoftenaskthatansweristeacher?agoodEnglishOurstudents,buthowcanIbecometheyneedprofessionalcompetence,whichwearegoingtodiscussinthenextsection.Howcanonebecomeagoodlanguageteacher?1.5languageagoodthemakingofdifficultThemostimportantandmostpartoforstatewhichcompetence,istheteacheristhedevelopmentofprofessionalawithprofession,andarmedofbeingadequatelyqualifiedforthequalityspecificrangeofskills,strategies,knowledge,andability.Task6competentprofessionallybecomeaanddiscusshowonecanWorkinpairsteacherofEnglish.Forexample,wehavetodevelopourEnglishproficiencyfirstandalsowemayneedtolearnfromexperiencedteachersthroughobservations.Whatelsecanyouthinkof?Makealistandthenpoolallyourideastogethertofindoutaboutyourcommonbeliefs.adifficultthanismuchmore'Alanguageteachersprofessionalcompetencesstudenta'andismorecomplicatedthanasdriver'skilltohandlecar,longerandinvolvesmorefactorsItofcompetencespeakingforeignlanguage.learningtime,andmayneverbefinished.thecannoviceis,craft;isthinkSomepeopleteachingathatateacherlearnprofessionbyimitatingtheexperts'techniques,justlikeanapprentice.Othersholdtheviewthatteachingisanappliedscience,basedonscientificknowledgeandexperimentation.Bymakingacompromisebetweenthesetwoviews,Wallace(1991)usesa“reflectivemodel”todemonstratethedevelopmentofprofessionalcompetence.Thefollowingmodelisanadaptedversiontoillustratetheprocessofbecomingaprofessionallycompetentteacher.Figure1.1Teachesprofessionaldevelopment(AdaptedfromWallace,1991:15)Fromtheabovemodel,wecanseethedevelopmentofprofessionalcompetenceforalanguageteacherinvolvesStage1,Stage2andGoal.Thefirststageislanguagedevelopment.AllEnglishteachersaresupposedtohaveasoundcommandofEnglish.Aslanguageisthesubjectmatterforlanguageteachersandalsobecauselanguageisalwayschanging,languagedevelopmentcannevercometoanend.Thesecondstageisthemostcrucialstageanditismorecomplicatedbecauseitinvolvesthreesub-stages:learning,practice,andreflection.Thelearningstageisactuallythepurposefulpreparationthatalanguageteachernormallyreceivesbeforehe\shestartsthepracticeofteaching.Thispreparationcaninclude:1.learningfromothers'experiences(empiricalknowledgegainedthroughreadingandobservations)2.learningthereceivedknowledge(languagelearningtheories,educationalpsychology,languageteachingmethodology,etc.)3.learningfromone'sownexperiencesasalearnerBothexperientialknowledge(others'andone'sown)andreceivedknowledgeareusefulwhenateachergoestopractice.Thisisthecombinationof‘craft'and‘appliedscience'knowledge.Thelearningstageisfollowedbypractice.Theterm‘practice'canbeusedintwosenses.Inonesense,itisashortperiodoftimeassignedtodoteachingpracticeaspartofone'spre-serviceeducation,usuallyunderthesupervisionofinstructors.Thispracticeisalsocalledpseudopractice.Theothersenseof‘practice'istherealclassroomteachingthatateacherundertakesafterhe/shefinishesformaleducation.Teachersbenefitfrompracticeiftheykeeponreflectingonwhattheyhavebeendoing(Stanely,1999).Itshouldbenotedthatteachersreflectontheirworknotonlyaftertheyfinishacertainperiodofpractice,butalsowhiletheyaredoingthepractice.Whenthewould-beteachers(trainees)aredoingpseudopractice,theyareoftentryingoutideasthattheyhavelearnedinamethodologyclass.Therefore,theyarelikelytoreflectonhowwellacertainideaortechniqueworksandoftentheirinstructorsmayrequirethemtodoso.Thepseudopracticeisbeneficialonlyifthestudentteacherstakereflectionsseriously.Themostdifficultthingistokeeponreflectingonone'sworkwhenonemovesontorealclassroomteaching.Ideally,ateachershouldbeabletoattainhis/herprofessionalcompetenceaftersomeperiodofpracticeandreflectionasshowninFigure1.1.However,professionalcompetenceasanultimategoaldoesnotseemtohaveanend.Withtheever-deepeningofourunderstandingofteachingandlearning,andwiththeeverchangingneedsofthesociety,ofeducation,ofstudents,andoftheteachingrequirements,onemustkeeponlearning,practicingandreflecting.Actuallyprofessionalcompetenceis'amovingtargetorhorizon,towardswhichprofessionalstravelalltheirprofessionallifebutwhichisneverfinallyattained‘.(Wallace,1991:58)Task7Workingroups.DiscusspossibleanswerstothefollowingquestionsinrelationtothemodelpresentedinFigure1.1.arestage1andstage2interrelatedbyadoublearrowline?1.Why2.Whyarepracticeandreflectionconnectedbyacircle?3.Whyisprofessionalcompetence'amovingtargetorhorizon,whichprofessionaltravelalltheirprofessionallifebuttowardswhichisneverfinallyattained?'4.WhereshouldaTEFLmethodologycoursefillinthemodel?1.6AnoverviewofthebookThissecondeditionofACourseinEnglishLanguageTeachinghasallowedustheopportunitytoexpandtheoriginal14unitsinto18inordertoincludetopicsreflectingtherecentdevelopmentinEnglishlanguageteachingbothathomeandabroad,torevisitanumberofareas,toexpandanclarifypointsthatwefeltwerenotsufficientlyclearinthefirstedition,andtoimprovethepedagogicalusefulnessofthetext.Overall,thebookaimsatintroducingpracticalmethodstoteachersofEnglishasaforeignlanguagewithsomebasictheoriespresentedinthefirsttwounits.Itishopedthatclassroomteachersorwould-beteacherswillnotsimplycopyorimitatewhataresuggestedbutbeabletochooseoradaptwithanunderstandingofwhy.Unit1servesasanintroductionforsettingthesceneforthismethodologycourse.Itdiscussesissuesconcerningviewsonlanguageandlanguagelearningorlearningingeneralwiththebeliefthatsuchviewswillaffectteachers'waysofteachingandthuslearners'waysoflearning.Thequalitiesofagoodlanguageteacherisalsodiscussedinordertoraisetheparticipants'awarenessofwhatisrequiredforagoodEnglishteacher.CommunicativeLanguageTeaching(CLT)andTask-basedLanguageTeaching(TBLT)havebeenthemostinfluentiallanguageteachingapproachesinthepasttwodecadesandtheyhaveproventobeeffectiveinavarietyoflanguageteachingcontexts.InUnit2weintroducethebasicprinciplesofCLTandactivitiesfollowedbyanintroductiontotask-basedapproach.Itisintendedthatmostofthemethodsthatweintroduceintheremainingunitswill,tosomeextent,followacommunicativeapproachandtask-basedlanguageteaching.Unit3isanewunitwhichfocusesonthenewNationalEnglishCurriculum.ItbeginswithabriefoverviewofthehistoryofEnglishlanguageteachinginChinafollowedbytasksanddiscussionsonthegoals,objectives,anddesignofthenewEnglishcurriculumandendswithdiscussionsonthechallengesfacingteacherstoday.Wehavearrangedlessonplanningandclassroommanagementasthenexttwounitsofthebook-Unit4andUnit5respectively.Withregardtothesetwounits,theneweditionhasreplacedsomepreviouslessonplansamplesandaddedsomerelevantissues,i.e.givingeffectiveinstructions,askingeffectivequestions,anddealingwithstudents'errorsintheclassroom.Tohavethesetwopartsintheearlyunits,ourintentionisthatthereaderwillusewhatiscoveredinthesetwopartsintheearlyunits,ourintentionisthatthereaderwillusewhatiscoveredinthesetwounitstodesignminiclassroomactivitiesfortheteachingofknowledgeandskillsthatcomeinlaterunits.Likethefirsteditionofthebook,Units6,7and8focusontheteachingoflanguagecomponents,thatis,theteachingofpronunciation,grammar,andvocabulary,whileUnits9,10,11,