外语学习与教学导论

ReadAnIntroductiontoForeignLanguageLearningandTeachingThebookcanbedividedintothreeparts̶partoneisthebackgroundoflanguagelearningandteaching;parttwoisforeignlanguagelearning,foreignlanguagelearning process, language acquisition and language learning theories, differencesandthelearnercharacteristics;partthreeislanguageteachingwhichincludeslanguageteachingmethods,languageteachingsocialcultureenvironment,howtomakeateachingplans,teachingskillsandlanguagetests.Theauthorcollectstheadvantagesofotherscholars’theories,objectivelyintroducestheideas,givesthequitedifferentcomments,andguidereaderstomakegoodusetheBesides,ithaslotsofdiscussionandquestion,whenweread thecontent,wearesupposingtoconsiderthesequestionsatthesametime.TheauthorJohnsonisdiscussingthequestionsandnarratingthetheoriessoastoexplorethevariousfieldsofforeignlanguageteachingwithreaderstogether.Andhehasaccumulatedawealthofteachingexperienceinforeigncountries.Accordingtomyunderstandingofthisbook,Iwilldoasimplesummary,thenlinkmyownexperiencetothetheoriesofthisbook,discussthepracticalteachingandtheproblemofourforeignlanguageteaching.Partone:thedevelopmentbackgroundofforeignlanguagelearningandteaching.Whydopeoplelearnforeignlanguages?Someonereally likesitandwantstoknowthecultureofaforeigncountryorhasinterestsinit,whileanumberofpeoplewhohavegreatpainonlearningaforeignlanguageareforstudypurposes.Itisnotinfactdifficulttounderstandtheimportanceofforeignlanguagelearninginworld.Asthebecomessmaller,andthemeansformovingrounditeasier,soithasbecomemoremulticulturalandmultilingual.Inamultilingualworld,itisnaturaltofindlargenumbersofpeoplewhospeakmorethanonelanguage.AccordingtoCrystalinmanyAfricancountries,asmanyas90percentofthepopulationregularlyusemorethanonelanguage.Whatisinvolvedinlearningaforeignlanguage?Firstly,wewillidentifywhatdifferenttypesofknowledgeandskillareinvolvedinusingalanguage.Thiswillinvolvetheareaslikepronunciation,vocabularyandgrammaraswellassomelessobviousones.However,describingthesedifferentlevelsofknowledgeandskillcannotanswerthequestion,sincenoteverythingwhichinvolvesinusingalanguageneedstobelearnedafreshbythelearner.Herewewillseesomeviewsoflanguageandlanguagelearning.Attheendoftheandbeginningof20thcentury,astimulusforthedevelopmentofcontemporarylinguisticscamefromwhatatfirstsightmightappearasanunlikelysource.Atthistime,linguistsdevelopedaserofanalytictechniqueswhichtheybelievedwouldenablethemtoachievethisaimofworking frominstancesofalanguageusetoanunderstandingofhowthatlanguagewasstructured.TherepresentativepeopleisBloomfield.Behaviorismwasconcernedhowlearningtookplace.Thethreebasicideasaboutlearningare:conditioningwhichistheprocessofdevelopingconnections;habitformationandtheimportanceofenvironment.Mentalismisabeliefthatthemindareimportantfordeterminingnotjustbehavior,butalsothewaywedoscience.Withallthesebackgroundinformation,wearesupposedtodolanguagelearningandteaching.Inthefollowingpart,wewilldeal withthemonebyone.Firstly,wewillseelearnersandtheirerrorsinlanguagelearning.Behavioristbelievedthatwhenanewhabitislearned,oldhabitswouldhavesomeeffectonthelearningLookingattheeffectsofonehabitonlearninganotherisknowninpsychologyasthestudyoftransfer.Twosortsoftransferwhicharepositivetransferandnegativetransferareimportanttous.Ladobelievedthatbycomparingthenativelanguageandthetargetlanguage,wewouldbeabletofindoutabouteaseanddifficultyoflearning.Thisiscalledthe‘contrastiveanalysishypothesis’.Richardsisinterestedinerrorswhose‘originsarefoundwithinthestructureofEnglishitself’,orthewayitistaught;thatis,non-contrastivecauses.Hecallsnon-contrastiveerrorsofthissortintralingual,meaning‘comingfromwithinthelanguageitself’,asopposedtointerlingualmeaning ‘comingfromdifferencesbetweenL1andideasareresponsiblefortheinterestinL1acquisitionthattherehasoverthepastfewdecades.TheAmericanKrashenarguesthattherearetwodistinctwaysofmasteringaforeignlanguage,andhecallstheseacquisitionandlearning.Hedescribesacquisitionasanaturaone,wherethereisnoconsciousfocusingonlinguisticforms.Itiswhatwehavealreadyinformallycalledtheprocessofpickingupalanguage,justasyoudoifyougoandliveinthetargetlanguageenvironment.Learning,ontheotherhand,isconsciousprocess,anditusuallytakesplaceinthelanguageclassroom.Theacquisition/learningdistinctionisnotwithoutitscritics,andseveralwritershavepointedoutthatitisnotaveryclear-cutone.LittleornothingissaidbyKrashenaboutthedifferentprocessesinvolvedineach,andtheonlyrealdifferenceisintermsoftheenvironmentsinwhichtheseprocessesoccur.So,toputitincrudeterms,acquisitioniswhathappenswhenyougoandliveinthetargetlanguagecountry,whilelearningiswhathappensinclassrooms.Weallcanthinkofoccasionswherewespeakdifferentlyfromthewaywenormallydo.Wemayputonanaccent,orbeparticularlycarefulaboutourgrammarandchoiceofwordswhenspeakingtoanimportantperson,beinginterviewedforajob,orinanyothersituationwherewefeelonshow.Therearemanypeoplewhowillhavealocaldialectthattheyusedasachild,andstilluseasadultsininformalsituation.Butspecialsituationtheymaymodifythatdialecttowardsamorestandardform.Themodificationofspeechpatterns,particularlyinsituationswherethereisform-focus,isknownasmonitoring.KrashenlinksFLmonitoringtothelearning/acquisitiondistinction.HesaysthatininformalspeechthelanguagetheFLlearnerproducesistheresultofanacquisitionprocess̶thelearnerusesthelanguageonehaspickedup.Itisonlyinmoreformalsituationsthatwhathasbeenlearnedcomesintoplayand,eventhen,itisinaratherrestrictedrole.Krashenclaimisthatlearningwilloccurwhenunknownitemsareonlyjustbeyondthelearnerpresentlevel.Aboveall,thelearnerneedsthehelpofafriendlylanguageprovider,whowillroughtone,andmodifyherlanguagesothatitdoesnotanswertoofarawayfromthelearner’slevelofcompetence.Wewilllookatsomeoftheconceptsunderlyingthesetheories,theseconceptsaredeclarative/proceduralknowledgedistinction,togetherwiththenotionsofautomizationandrestructuring.Weshallthenthinkabouthowtheseconceptsmightrelatetotheacquisitionwehavejustfinisheddescribing.TheresultofourdeliberationswillbeanattempttooutlineoneframeworkwhichcanaccountforbothFLlearningandacquisition.Indeedadrivingtestwhichconcentratedondeclarativeknowledgeandnotproceduralknowledgewouldbearecipefordisaster.Teacherrealizesthathavingdeclarativeknowledgeofalanguageisquitedifferentfrombeingabletospeakit.Automizationmeansmakingautomaticwhichisaveryimportantprocess.Itiseasytoapplytheautomizationconcepttolanguagelearning.Whenthelearnerfirstcomesacrossanewtense,forhemayneedallhisavailableefforttoproduceit.Asamatteroffact,languagelearnerswhoarestrugglingsohardwiththelanguageconversation,sincealltheirattentionseemstobeontryingtoproducethecorrecttense.Overtimethelearnerwillcometousethattensesoautomaticallythatitoccupiesnothoughtspaceforhimtodoso,atwhichfreepointheisfreetothinkaboutwhatheissaying,nothowheissayingit.Aspeoplelearn,thewaytheyviewwhattheyarelearningchanges.Mclaughlinpointsoutoneimportantcharacteristicofrestructuringwhichisthatitoftenoccurssuddenly,thenewwayofseeingthingshappensinaflesh.Itisquitedifferentfromautomization,whichusuallyoccursovertimeasmoreandmorepracticeisgiven.Alearningtheoryneedstohavesomewayofaccountingforsuddenfleshlearning,becauseitdoeshappen.SomeonethinkintelligenceisanimportantfactorforaFLlearning.Itisbelievedthatacertaindegreeofintelligencewas useful,ifnotessential,forsuccess. Thisisareasonwhylearningforeignlanguagesisoftenleftuniversitylevel,sothatonlythemostintelligentwouldtakeiton.ItisalsoacommonbeliefthatFLlearningactuallyhelpstodevelopstheintelligence.However,italsodependsonwhichlanguageskillsyoutalkingabout.Inotherwords,intelligenceisnotthecrucialfactorinaFLlearning,itonlydependsonwhichlanguageskillyouarelearning.Whatislanguageaptitude?AccordingtoCaroll,itistherateatwhichpersonsatthesecondaryschool,universityandadultlevelsuccessfullymasteraforeignlanguage.Thisdefinitionacceptsthateveryonecanacquire,itisjustsomepeopledoitfasterthanothers.Inmyunderstanding,languageaptitudeissodifficulttomeasure.Sometimesonelearnthepronunciationbetterthanothers,whilesometimesonelearnsgrammarbetterthanotherskills.Inawords,languageaptitudecannotbemeasured,sowecannotseeone aptitudeinaproperway.Inallareasofhumanactivity,therearereasonswhypeopledothings,andforeignlanguagelearningisnoexception.AmongthewealthofmotivesforFLlearning,oneofthemoregrotesqueiswhatisknownisasmachiavellianism ̶whereonelearnstheforeignlanguagenotforloveofthetargetcountryanditsculture,buttocontributetoitsdestruction.Thoughsomestudiesfindthatintegrativemotivationismoreeffectivethaninstrumental,thereisalsonoshortageofresearchshowingtheimportanceofinstrumentalmotivationaswell.more,therearevarioussortsofattitudewhichberelevantto language learning.Byfar the most studiedis attitudetowardstarget-languagespeakers,sometimescalledthereferenceoraspirationalgroup.attitudetypeshavebeendiscussesinrelationtolanguagelearning,whichareattitudestowardssuccess,attitudestowardsteacher,andattitudetowardsyourowncountry.Inmyexperience,theattitudetowardsteacheris muchmoreimportantthantheothers,sinceateachermayhaveastronginfluenceonlanguagelearning.Theauthorgivesasadstoryofonestudentwhichisaboutoneofthestudentshasfulltherightattitudes,andhasplentyofintegrativemotivation.However,itissadthatsheisthesecondlowestintheclass.Thereasonwhysheisfailuretobesuccessfulinlanguagelearningisherlackofpersonalityvariables.Whentalkingaboutthepersonalityvariables,wemayhaveextroversionandintroversioninourmind.Commonsensemightsuggestthattherecouldbeaconnectionbetweenextroversionandoralperformance.Butyoumayalsofeelthatintrovertsarereallyjustascompetentinallareas,theonlydifferencebeingthattheintrovertsdonotspeaksomuch.AnotherfascinatingfactorwhichhasbeenstudiedinrelationtoFLlearningisknownasempathyoregopermeability.Egopermeabilityhasbeendefinedastheactofconstructingforoneselfanotherpersonmentalstate.Whenwearegivenaproblemtosolve,weallhaveourownpreferredwaysoftacklingit.Thesewaysofthinkingaresometimereferredtoascognitivestyles.Interestingresearchhasbeendoneintodifferentcognitivestylesofindividuals.Inthelanguage-learningfield,someofthemostinterestingisrelatedtowhatiscalledfieldindependence.Inotherwords,someindividualsseemmoreablethanotherstoextractthingsfromthecontextinwhichtheyaremet,andtoseethemasseparateentities.Peoplewhocandothiseasilyaresaidtobefieldindependent,whilethosewhodonotarefielddependent.Thelargestso-calledgoodlanguagelearnerstudyis̶Naimanetal.Ithadthreemainaims.Onewastoidentifythestrategiesthatgoodlearnersused.Secondly,werethereanycorrelationsbetweensuccessfullearningandthevariableswehavebeenlookingat. thirdandlesscentralaimistolearnsomethingaboutwhatteachersdointheclassroom.TheNaimanetal.Studyprovidesaveritabletreasuretroveofinterestingpiecesofinformation.Asregardinglearningstrategies,theresearchersfoundthatinformationonstrategiesismoreusefullycollectedthroughinterviews,notobservation.Theyhadhopedthatwatchingpupilsinclasswouldgivethemplentyofinformationonstrategies.Butthisdidnothappen.Thisisnotsosurprisingwhenyouthinkhowmuchoflanguagebehavioringeneraliscovert.Thereisnotmuchtoseeorhear̶mostofwhathappensgoesoninhead.Wehavelookedatthelanguagelearningtheoryinageneralway,accordingtotheories,wemayhaveasimpleunderstandingoflanguagelearninginourmind.Inthefollowingpart,wewillmainlydemonstratethelanguageteaching,whichhelpsthebeginnerteachersandtheexperiencedteachersteachwellinthefuture.Grammartranslationhasagreatinfluenceinourteachinghistory.Eventoday,someofteachersstillusetheGTmethod,foritisveryusefulandstudentscanunderstanditeasily.Inotherwords,studentscanusetheirfirstlanguagetohelpthemlearnforeignlanguage.ChineseandEnglisharesodifferentfromeachother,wecansaywecannotfindanyrelationshipbetweenthem.Inourdailylife,wecanfindoutthatitishardtospeakalanguage,thoughyoucanreadandwriteit.Soaudio-lingualismcanhelpusgetourpracticalneed.Itscharacteristicsare1).Primacyofspeech.Speechcomesfirstandwritingfollowson.OvertimeALdevelopedfirmviewsabouttheorderthefourskills.Itwasthereceptiveskills(listeningandreading)shouldbelearnedfirst,andthentheproductiveones(speakingandwriting).2).Stimulus-response-reinforcementmodel.3).Habitformationthroughrepetition.4).Incrementalism.5).Contrastivelinguistics.6).Inductivelearning.ALwasextremelywidespreadthroughouttheworlduptothe1960s.Itwasoftensupportedwithgreatenthusiasm.Humanisticapproachisalsoaeffectivemethodinlanguageteaching.Robertsdescribeshumanisminappliedlinguisticsaslanguageteachingrespectingtheintegrityoflearners, allowing for personal growth and responsibility,taking psychological affectivefactorsintoaccount,andrepresentingwholepersonlearning.Therootsofhumanisminlanguageteachingarevarious.Onecentraloneisthediscovery-learningmovement,particularlyassociatedwiththeworkoftheeducationalpsychologistJeromeBruner.Discoverylearningemphasizesthestudentownactivityandenquiry,ratherthanthetransmissionofinformationbytheteacher.Task-basedteachinghasbecomeasubjectofkeencontemporaryinterest,anddifferenttask-basedapproachesexisttoday.SomediffersubstantiallyfromPrabhuoftennotbeingbasedsocentrallyontheparallelwithL1acquisition.Butoneunderlyingprincipleholdsforalltheapproaches ̶toplacetheemphasisfirmlyonactivitiesortasksthatlearnersdoinclass.Thisemphasisisreflectedinmuchcurrentresearchwhichstudiesthecharacteristicsofdifferentsortsofactivities.Thereareanumberoffeaturesthatwillmaketasksmoreorlessdifficult,andmuchrecentresearchintotask-basedteachinglookingatthese.Task-basedteachingisstillusedspreadtoday,anditisturnedouttobeapracticalteachingmethod.Thosewhoarenewtothelanguage-teachingprofessionmaybelievethatbecomingagoodlanguageteacherisonlyaquestionfoequippingyourknowledgeofthetargetlanguage,learninghowtoconductthesortsofactivitywhichgooninclassrooms,aswellasacquiringmoregeneralteachingskillstodowithmanagingclassroomsandthepeopleinthem.Theseaspectsoflanguageteachingareofcourseveryimportant.However,westillneedtoknowtheforeignlanguageplanning.Languageplanningisalargeareawhichdealswiththelanguageproblemsofasociety.Foreignlanguageplannersandtheteacherswhoputtheirplansintoactionneedtoknowalotaboutthecontextinwhichtheteachingtakesplace.Contextsisallimportant,andappliedlinguistswhotrytomakelistsofthefactorsthatarerelevanttolanguageteachingalwaysincludeasetcalledcontextual.Contextisimportantnotjustforthelanguageplanner.Teachersneedtoknowaboutcontextaswell.Agoodnumberofpeoplewhoareprofessionallyinvolvedinlanguageteachingwillatoneoranothertimeintheirliveshavetheresponsibilityofproducingasyllabus,orpartof one. There are mainly two types of syllabus̶ the structural syllabus notional/functionalsyllabus.Themainorganizingprinciplesofstructuralsyllabusisaccordingtolanguagestructures.Syllabusdesignersandtextbookwriterstodaycommonlyfollowsimilarprocedures,producingtheirownsyllabusinterventories.SelectionisabigissueforN/Fsyllabustype.Instructuralsyllabusdesignselectingwhattoteachisaquestionofdecidingonordering.Therearesomestudentswhoknowtheirgrammar,butlackcommunicativeability.Theyexistindrovesaroundtheworld,alegacyofstructuralteaching.N/Fteachingisabletoaddacommunicativedimensiontotheirknowledge, activatethisknowledgesothatitcouldbeusedfordoingthingswithlanguage.Thispartwewilltalkaboutlanguageteachingwaysandmeans.Aswehavediscussedtwoprocessesofmasteringaforeignlanguage̶declarativizationandWewilldiscussconveyinglanguageandpracticinglanguage.Conveyinglanguagereferstoallthesewaysofshowinghowalanguage works,andpracticinglanguagecaptures