1Unit1LanguageandLearning1.1Howdowelearnlanguage?1.Welearnlanguageatdifferentages2.Peoplehavedifferentexperiences3.Peoplelearnlanguagesfordifferentreasons4.Peoplelearnlanguagesindifferentways5.Peoplehavedifferentcapabilitiesinlanguagelearning6.Learningcanbeaffectedbythewayhowlanguageistaught7.Learningisaffectedbythedegreeofsuccessoneisexpecttoachieve.8.Thusthechallengeconfrontinglanguageteachingishowteachingmethodologycanensuresuccessfullearningbyallthelearnerswhohavemoredifferencesthanthecommonality.1.2Whatarethemajorviewsoflanguage?1)Structuralview:Languageisalinguisticsystemmadeupofvarioussubsystems:phonology,morphology,lexicologyandsyntax.Tolearnalanguageistolearnitsvocabularyandstructuralrules.2)Functionalview:Languageisalinguisticsystemaswellasameansfordoingthings.Learnerslearnalanguageinordertobeabletodothingswithit(useit).Toperformfunctions,learnersneedtoknowhowtocombinethegrammaticalrulesandthevocabularytoexpressnotionsthatperformthefunctions.3)Interactionalview:Languageisacommunicativetooltobuildupandmaintainsocialrelationsbetweenpeople.Learnersneedtoknowtherulesofalanguageandwhere,whenandhowitisappropriatetousethem.1.3ViewsonLanguageLearningTwobroadlearningtheories:Process-orientedtheoriesareconcernedwithhowthemindorganizesnewinformation.Condition-orientedtheoriesemphasizethenatureofhumanandphysicalcontext.BehavioristtheoryB.F.SkinnerAstimulus-responsetheoryofpsychologyAudio-lingualmethodTheideaofthismethodisthatlanguageislearnedbyconstantrepetitionandthereinforcementoftheteacher.Mistakeswereimmediatelycorrected,andcorrectutteranceswereimmediatelypraised.B.CognitivetheoryInfluencedbyNoamChomsky(revivalofstructurallinguistics)Languageasanintricaterule-basedsystemAlearneracquireslanguagecompetencewhichenableshimtoproducelanguage.Oneinfluentialideaofcognitiveapproachtolanguageteachingisthatstudentsshouldbeallowedtocreatetheirownsentencebasedontheirownunderstandingofcertainrules.C.ConstructivisttheoryJeanPiaget(1896—1980)Thelearnerconstructsmeaningbasedonhis/herownexperiencesandwhatisalreadyknown.D.Socio-constructivisttheoryVygotsky“ZoneofProximalDevelopment”(ZPD);scaffolding(脚手架)Learningisbestachievedthroughthedynamicinteractionbetweentheteacherandthelearnerandbetweenlearners.1.4Whatarethequalitiesofagoodlanguageteacher?Agoodlanguageteacherdoesnotsolelydependonhis/hercommandofthelanguage.Thereareavarietyofelementsthatcontributestothequalitiesofagoodlanguageteacher.Theseelementscanbecategorizedintothreegroups:ethicdevotion,professionalqualityandpersonalstyles.1.5Howcanonebecomeagoodlanguageteacher?Wallace’s(1991)‘reflectivemodel’(Figure1.1,p.9)Stage1:languagedevelopmentStage2:learning,practice,reflection2Thelearningstageisthepurposefulpreparationthatalanguagenormallyreceivesbeforethepractice,Thispreparationcaninclude:1.Learningfromothers’experience2.Learningthereceivedknowledge3.Learningfromone’sownexperiencesThepracticestage(2senses)Pseudopractice:shortperiodoftimeassignedtodoteachingpracticeaspartofone’spre-serviceeducation,usuallyunderthesupervisionofinstructorsTherealclassroomteaching:whatateacherundertakesafterhe/shefinishesformaleducationTeachersbenefitfrompracticeiftheykeeponreflectingonwhattheyhavebeendoingGoal:professionalcompetenceUnit2CommunicativePrinciplesandTask-basedlanguageteaching2.1Howislanguagelearnedinclassroomsdifferentfromlanguageusedinreallife?LanguageusedinreallifeLanguagetaughtintheclassroomToperformcertaincommunicativefunctionsTofocusonforms(structuresorpatterns)Useallskills,bothreceptiveskillsandproductiveskillsTofocusononeortwolanguageskillsandignoreothers.UsedinacertaincontextToisolatelanguagefromitscontext2.2Whatiscommunicativecompetence?Tobridgethegapbetweenclassroomlanguageteachingandreal-lifelanguageuse,onesolutionistoadoptCLT,thegoalofwhichistodevelopstudents’communicativecompetence.2.2.1Definition:Communicativecompetenceincludeboththeknowledgeaboutthelanguageandtheknowledgeabouthowtousethelanguageappropriatelyincommunicativesituations2.2.2Fivecomponentsofcommunicativecompetence(Hedge2000)1.Linguisticcompetence(语言能力)a)Theknowledgeoflanguageitself,itsformandmeaning.2.Pragmaticcompetence(语用能力)a)Theappropriateuseoflanguageinsocialcontext.3.Discoursecompetence(语篇能力)One’sabilitytocreatecoherentwrittentextorconversationandtheabilitytounderstandthem4.Strategiccompetence(策略能力)Strategiesoneemployswhenthereiscommunicationbreakdownduetolackofresources.5.Fluency(流利性)One’sabilityto‘linkunitsofspeechtogetherwithfacilityandwithoutstrainorinappropriateslownessorundue(过分的,不适当的)hesitation’2.3ImplicationsforteachingandlearningTeachingmustenablelearnerstograspthefivecomponentsofcommunicativecompetence,butnotjustthelinguisticcompetence.2.4PrinciplesofCLTThreeprinciplessuggestbyRichardandRodgers:1Communicationprinciple:Involverealcommunication2Taskprinciple:Carryoutmeaningfultasks3Meaningfulnessprinciple:MeaningfullanguagetothelearnerHowattproposesaweakandastrongversionofCLT:WeakversionLearnersfirstacquirelanguageasastructuralsystemandthenlearnhowtouseitincommunication.Stro