Introduction

State University B.P. Hasdeu of Cahul

COURSE NOTES ON

ENGLISH DIDACTICS

CAHUL 2012

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

INTRODUCTION..3I. ON DIDACTICS AND ENGLISH METHODOLOGY

DIDACTICS-THE GENERAL THEORY ON THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESS5TYPES OF COMPETENCES...7THE CONTENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING

12THE PRINCIPLES OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING13II. FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODS

TRADITIONAL METHODS.20COMMUNICATIVE METHODS..27INNOVATIVE METHODS33III.STUDYING LANGUAGE SYSTEM

TEACHING LISTENING.40TEACHING SPEAKING..46TEACHING READING53TEACHING WRITING.57TEACHING PRONUNCIATION.63TEACHING VOCABULARY..65TEACHING GRAMMAR.71TEACHING WITH VIDEO..81BIBLIOGRAPHY.94APPENDIX95INTRODUCTION Didactics, according to Comenius is the art of teaching others employing various strategies that derive from a branch of it-called Methodology.

Methods of teaching a foreign language is understood as a body of scientifically tested theory concerning the teaching of foreign language in schools and other educational institutions.

Teaching a foreign language is essentially different from teaching many school subjects where students (pupils) are required to memorize and apply factual information.

Certainly, there is a body of knowledge to be acquired about language-facts, about grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation - and there is a place for conscious learning.

However, this is just a part of what a successful language teacher and learner does.

The present course of lectures deals with the study of three main problems:

Competences and subcompetences in teaching a foreign language-that is why to teach and learn;

content of teaching that is what to teach to achieve the competences mentioned above;

methods and techniques of teaching that is how to teach a foreign language to achieve the aim in the most effective way.

Language teaching is also concerned with teaching students how to develop and form pupils habits and skills in listening, reading, speaking and writing.

The focus of this course is not so much on the language and the language skills being taught, but on the teaching skills and techniques where the teacher is required to direct or orchestrate the learning activities of the class.

It is very important for a student to understand the importance and social value of his future profession (job) as a teacher. The present course is meant to help the students to acknowledge these values.

It is intended for students who have practice in schools and high-schools. The aim of the course is to help students to realize the main objectives of his lesson and to teach students different methods of teaching English in order to make theirs and learners activities more efficient.DIDACTICS-THE GENERAL THEORY ON THE EDUCATIONAL PROCESSTopics:

1. Object of study2. English Methodology- a branch of specialty didactics3. Social and educational factors

1. The term didactics comes from the Greek didaskein meaning to teach others. Comenius- the scholar who wrote Didactica Magna defined Didactics as the art of teaching the others. Didactics deals with the educational process and is based on certain principles, goals concerning the cognitive process employing scientific methods and procedures.

Didactics studies:

-the educational process as a cognitive and formative one;

- the educational system;

- the didactic principles;

- the content of teaching;

-the methods of teaching;

-the didactic technology-the curriculum

- the teacher-student relationship, the teachers roles;

-school architecture;

-the process of evaluation.

Didactics can be:

-general-responding to general standards of human health and development;

-special- responding to specific needs and peculiarities of people with physical and mental disabilities.

Didactics embraces various subjects directing its objects of study towards diverse Methodologies of Specialty such as English Methodology, Geography Methodology, Biology Methodology, etc. Since this course intends to prepare teachers of English for their pedagogical trainings, English Methodology will constitute the primary source for instruction. 2. Methods of teaching a foreign language is understood as a body of scientifically tested theory concerning the foreign language teaching in schools and other educational institutions. It covers three main problems:

Competences and subcompetences-that is goal setting that will answer the question what for or why to teach a foreign language content of foreign language teaching- that is what to teach

methods and techniques of foreign language teaching- that is how to teach a foreign language in order to attain the aims of this science in the most effective way.3.Social and educational factors determine in a way teachers activity within the social attitudes towards the English language. Learning will partly determine how much effort teachers have to put into motivating children. The presence of English in community will immediately facilitate practice opportunities such as writing reviews of English films and TV programmes, keeping a diary of extra curricular activities, outside visits, or encounter projects. Its absence creates greater but not insuperable challenges for teachers, who will need to think about sources of authentic input, about creating a balance of skills work to make the most productive use of class and out of class time. The educational system in which teachers work will be influenced by cultural notions of authority which affect the potential roles of teachers and learners.

TYPES OF COMPETENCESCommunicative Area1. linguistic competences require the learning of the linguistic system of a language together with its levels of communication(phonetic, grammatical, lexical, stylistic). The role of metalanguage ( formation rules, definitions, linguistic terms) is not emphasizes excepting the simplest notions as gender, number, case, conjugation, etc that will facilitate logical combination of linguistic phenomena with a certain communicative situation. In other words the linguistic competences are included in the learners lexical, grammatical, semantic, phonetic orthographic competences.

2. communicative competences will demonstrate learners ability to use the linguistic competences, to understand the oral(comprehension, fluent, expressive, speedy, selective reading) and written messages, to produce and reproduce the oral and written messages based on the syllabus material as well as on other situations.

a) Recepting oral messages:

1.1. identifying the general(global) meaning of an oral message, presented clearly and at an average speed

1.2. eliciting specific information from a short oral message

1.3. defining a logical order of events in a short, clearly presented text.

1.4.following the speakers instructions appropriately

b) Recepting written messages:

3.1. identifying the type of text

3.2. identifying the global meaning of a message( silent reading)

3.3. extracting the main ideas from an unknown text

3.4. associating the information from a text with a set of pictures or a picture

3.5. selecting ideas from a text and arranging them into an appropriate scheme

c) producing written messages:

4.1.asking for and giving personal information

4.2. providing a complete and clear description of a person or event

4.3. providing a description of the students household duties (according to a given plan)

3. pragmatic competences will demonstrate learners abilities to choose the communicative strategy that fits to a concrete communication act( using nonverbal means like gestures and mime when the speaker has lexical blanks, the use of synonyms, antonyms, etc.). The learner should be able to apply the linguistic competences and the nonverbal means in filling his blanks, in writing letters, sending e-mails with the aim to communicate, to contact, to congratulate, to invite, to show initiative in communication, to find out a solution for difficult communicative situations, to pass over the barrier of communication discomfort as a result insufficient knowledge by substituting the unknown grammatical forms with simpler ones, to perceive the constitution, emission of diverse speaking acts.

a) producing oral messages and interaction:

2.1. asking for and using information about the students families

2.2. participating in a dialogue on a familiar topic to exchange simple information

2.3. synchronistically translating into the students native language a sequence of 4-5 short sentences on a familiar topic

2.4. providing a short fluent description of the students family members.Cultural Area Social/multicultural competences show the learners ability to acquire the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to increase the cross-cultural awareness concerning the allophone country(traditions, holydays, historical, cultural personalities, etc. This group of competences places the learner within a multidimensional world where there are different races, nationalities, peoples. Graduating from secondary school the learner will show knowledge in geographic, historic, social, cultural peculiarities of the allophone countries, awareness in foreign language and literature importance as means of national and international communication, the recognition of different cultures integration within the context of socio-economic globalization.

Graduating from secondary school the learner will posess:

a)interlinguistic competences based on the foreign languages studied. b)terminological competences based on the domains of languages studied

c)intercultural competences based on the languages studied

For example:

1. identifying and respecting the norms of verbal and non-verbal communication while interacting orally and in written form

2. Identifying some elements of the systems of education of English speaking countries (timetable, school subjects, school activities, vacations

3.Knowledge of simple literary texts which belong to the culture of English-speaking countries

4. knowledge of some cartoons for children their structure , characters, actions, -and identifying the ways of expressing attitudes and feelings

5.indentifying the general meaning of traditional songs

6. knowledge of famous people of the target language community

7. cooperating with classmates to fulfil some study activities showing responsibility respect and tolerance in the course of communication

Comparison Area

Interdisciplinary competences constitute a system of knowledge , skills, attitudes, and values acquired during the learning process beginning with the secondary school when the learning of foreign languages and other subjects related to them takes place. These competences formation let the learner notice, identify, evaluate similarities and differences among the grammatical, lexical, semantic, orthographic systems of the studied languages, among the terms used in the studied languages, among the linguistic, social-cultural, and civic interference blanks.

For example:1. Comparing fairy tales characters in English speaking countries and Moldova

2. Comparing some topics of poems and songs for children in English speaking countries and Moldova

3. Comparing structures and content of cartoons for children in English speaking countries and Moldova

4. Comparing the ways of explaining the rules of games and giving instructions in a standard language

5. Comparing the ways of giving an address.Integrated Skill Combination

Methodological competences derive from the foreign language teaching-learning-evaluation process because the learner is placed within a specific didactic environment being the subject of it together with his competences. This process is designed for the learner, is realized with his participation being tutored by the teacher. These competences presuppose learners awareness concerning the didactic methods and means necessary in teaching a foreign language and their abilities to use the didactic

means independently( the copybook, the textbook, the audio, video, CD, DVD recordings, the TV set, the computer, the dictionary, the internet, etc.). The learner must know the methods of working with the didactic material and sometimes be able to identify by himself the didactic means necessary to carry out the given tasks with self-formation and self-evaluation aims.

Learning about interlinguistic and intercultural similarities and differences

1. Identifying simple expressions similar to the ones in the students mother tongue in simple written and spoken sentences

2. drawing and explaining a plan

3. drawing pictures and collages in the course of study activities

4. correctly writing and pronouncing numbers in the course of study activities

5. making a full description of pets

6. listening to and interpreting songs for children

7. employing non-verbal means of communication- body movements, facial expressions and actions-through active games

8. memorizing and reciting rhymes, short poems and simple dialogues fluently and with proper intonation.

Community Area Civic competences(attitudinal and axiological) are destined to self-evaluation and deepening. The foreign language learning within this dimension will contribute to the increase of toleration, altruism, condescension, indulgence, responsibility for ones own opinions and judgements, stimulating learners to aspire to a continuous improvement of his knowledge and skills in a certain domain.

1. identifying the ways of behaviour and speech acts which are related to various communicative situations: at the library

2. identifying and respecting certain forms of written interaction! The sample subcompetences were taken from the Moldovan national Curriculum, the Vth grade compartment.THE CONTENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHINGThere is no single acceptable way to go about teaching languages today.Topics:

1. The first component- four language skills.

2. The second component- linguistic component

3. The third component- methodological component.

The component of foreign language teaching or what to teach is one of the main problems the main methodologists deal with.

1. The four language skills.

The 1st component of what to teach is: skills which pupils should acquire while learning a foreign language according to the competences of learning this subject (listening, speaking, reading and writing). The four language skills are divided into two groups:

a) receptive-these are listening and writing because by their means we receive or input information.

b) productive- these are speaking and writing as they help output information or produce or reproduce it.

The level of skills and habits is determined by the syllabus for each form. However qualitative and quantitative characters of skill or so called terminal behaviour is not defined yet for different types of schools and strategies of instruction.2. Linguistic component.

The second component of what to teach is a linguistic one which includes language material, sentence patterns, pattern dialogues, texts in different styles, arranged topics and serving as starting points for the development of oral language and written language which allows the teacher to reach the linguistic, communicative, methodological and cultural competences set by the syllabus. On the other hand, linguistic material for example phonology grammar, vocabulary is carefully selected for this purpose. The selection of the linguistic material is very important. For example minimum vocabulary, grammar has always been one of the most important and difficult problems to be solved.3. Methodological component.

The third component of what to teach is a methodological component. Pupils should be taught how to learn the foreign language how to work at the subject to attain the aims. For example how to memorize words and keep them in memory, how to perform drill exercises in the most effective way, how to perform creative exercises which require a personal approach on the part of the pupils. So the content of foreign language teaching involves three main components:

1. Psychological habits and skills which ensure the use of the target language as a means of communication in oral (listening, speaking) and written (reading, writing) forms.2. Linguistic component- language and linguistic material which should be assimilated to be used in language skills.

3. Methodological component- the techniques which pupils should acquire, to learn a foreign language in a most effective way.

THE PRINCIPLES OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHINGTopics:

1. The principle of scientific approach.

2. The principle of information accessibility.

3. The principle of durability.

4. The principle of conscious approach.

5. The principle of activities.

6. The principle of visualisation.

7. The principle of individualization.

Principle is defined as a guide to teaching methods of foreign language based on the fundamental principles of Didactics.

Every school-subject realises these principles in its own way. Thus didactic principles employed in teaching a certain subject become methodological principles for teaching this subject.

1. The principle of scientific approach.

Scientific approach in foreign language teaching implies careful determination of what and how to teach in order to achieve the competences set by the syllabus. The other aims can be achieved through the practical command of the target language. One of the main methodological principles is the principle of the practical and communicative approach. It means pupils should be involved in written or oral communication. Throughout the whole comes out the learning of the foreign language. This principle is realised by means of competences and subcompetences and teaching materials now used in schools.Pupils are taught to use the target language as a means of communication for listening, comprehension, writing, speaking and reading. Each language activity has its own set of actions which are characteristic to this activity.

2. The principle of information accessibility.The next principle is closely connected with the selection of material and its arrangement in order to provide accessibility for language learning on the part of the pupils. As pupils learn the target language for communication the material should be arranged in a more suitable way for the purpose. In modern methodology various approaches to the arrangement of the teaching materials for teaching purposes are observed:1. Linguistic approach- when in foreign language teaching a certain linguistic theory is applied. The material is arranged and interpreted in accordance with the theory.2. The structural-functional approach- when material is arranged in structures.3. The principle of durability.

This principle implies the ability of pupils to keep in memory linguistic and language material they learn of ready access. The pupils can use units of language and sentence patterns, whenever they need them for oral and written communication. The durability is insured by:1. Vivid presentation of the material when pupils are involved in presentations. Their thinking and senses are at work. 2. Constant revision or drill- pupils reproduce the material and review it out of their auditory visual kinaesthetic and motor analyses are at work.3. The use of the material on the part of the learners for communication. Pupils read texts with various assignment to get information through listening and reading they carry on conversations within the topics:

4. Systematic control.

5. Constant supervision of pupils habits and skills on the part of the teacher.

Under these conditions pupils keep the material longer in their memory because it is constantly reviewed by them and revised by the teacher.

4. The principle of conscious approach.

Language learning comprises comprehension of a linguistic phenomenon of language material usually by means of native language or the arrangement of the material in sentence patterns some elements which are singled out as teaching points. In all cases pupils understand both: the form and content of the material. They are to learn and they are aware of how they should treat the material while performing various exercises the aim of which is to develop habits and skills in using it. Such an approach to language learning is achieved with the help of explanation, drills, clarification exercises, argumentation and examples. The pupils should acquire the rules of the language in order to be able to follow these rules in the act of communication and the teachers tasks is to help the pupils in this respect. Preceding to psychological peculiarities or foreign language assimilation and taking into account the basic progress of thought, we may come to the conclusion that in order to master a foreign language, pupils must have a lot of practice in listening, speaking, reading and writing. As for the mother tongue, we can not eliminate it- we should use it as a means of teaching whenever it helps pupils in acquiring knowledge necessary for developing habits and skills.Conscious approach in foreign language teaching implies the pupils understanding of the materials they are to learn to be able to transform it and to apply it in communication in the target language. Transformation is connected with pupils abilities to make the material fit to any new situation and new tasks. Comprehension is achieved:

1. through situations in which the material is used.

2. through contexts and other linguistic means(synonyms, antonyms, definitions)

3. through translations into the mother tongue

4. through visual presentation(pictures, objects, gestures)

5. pointing out some features which are characteristic for this amount of material

6. through creating so called orientation, to be able to perform a necessary action with the material.5. The principle of activities.

Foreign language teaching is of great importance. The pupil is an active participant in the process- he is involved in language activities. Throughout the whole course of instruction in modern Psychology- activity is now generally considered to be the main characteristic of cognitive progress. Activity arises under certain conditions. The pupil should fulfil a need to learn a subject and have necessary pre-required sets created for a satisfaction of this need. The main sources of activity are: -motivation

-desire

-interest

So in foreign language teaching it is necessary to stimulate pupils activity by involving them in the act of communication in the target language either in oral or written form.If pupils are not involved in communication and remain on the level of performing drill of exercises, they soon loose their interest in the subject and become passive at the lesson. It is pupils who should work and not the teacher during the lesson. Some ways to solve these problems are:1. work in unison.

2. mass work when pupils are invited to listening to a text, to read a text silently, to do some exercises in written form when they learn for themselves and do the same work.3. work in small groups when pupils are divided into four five groups and each group received a special assignment either reading or speaking the work results in conversation between group I and the class, group II and the class.4. work in pairs.

5. individual work in programmed instruction when each pupil can work with the programme he receives either through visual or auditory perception at his own pace.

6. The principle of visualisation.

This principle has always been very important for long learning since the gaining of knowledge begins either with perception or with what has been formally perceived with previous experience. Visualization may be defined as a specially organised demonstration of linguistic material and language behaviour characteristic of the target language with the purpose of helping the pupils in understanding, assimilating and utilising this in connection with the task set.Since pupils acquire a second language in artificial conditions visualisation should be expanded.

Visualisation allows the teacher to create natural conditions for pupils of oral and practical activities and free conversation. Visualisation can be used in teaching under various aspects of language: phonology, vocabulary, grammar and the development of four language skills.

The use of visualisation makes foreign language lessons emotionally coloured and increases pupils interest.

Visualisation implies an extensive use of audio-visual aids and audio-visual materials for presenting and memorizing the linguistic material and for developing oral and written language although they are to be used differently according to the stage of instruction, the age of pupils, etc.In foreign language teaching in schools it is necessary to follow the oral approach as it is the one that allows the pupils to deal with the language in its primary functions as a means of communication.7. The principle of individualization.

This principle is of great importance since the subject is an essential one and according to the curriculum each pupil should acquire habits and skills the syllabus sets.Some individuals in a class learn more rapidly than others, sometimes an individual enters in a period of fast learning, sometimes enters in a period of poor-learning.

The teacher should assess the progress of each individual and find the way how to manage the classroom activity so that the slowest learners are not depressed by being left behind and the fastest and most able learners are not frustrated by being held back.Individualisation in foreign language teaching is achieved:

1. through the use of individual cards compiled by the teacher who is aware of pupils ability.2. through the use of the programme, materials when each pupil can work at his own pace.

3. by special selection of exercises for each group of pupils in class, bright, average and full.

4. by the use of additional material

5. by arranging pupils communication in the target language so that each pupil can do his best as a participant of different activities.So in order to apply the principle of individualisation in a foreign language the teacher should be familiar with the class with its individuals.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODSTopics:1. Approach. Method. Procedure. Technique2. Traditional Methods3. Communicative methods4. Innovative Methods

Before each group of methods is described together with its specific common features a strong necessity is felt to draw the distinction among the notions of approach, method,

procedure and technique. Here are the definitions proposed by Jeremy Harmer:a) Approach refers to theories about the nature of language teaching that serve as a source of practices and language teaching. An approach describes how language is used and how its constituent parts interlock. It also offers a model of language competence, it describes how people acquire their knowledge of language, it makes statements about the conditions which will promote successful language learning.b) Method is the practical realisation of the approach. It implies types of activities, roles of teachers and learners, kinds of helpful material and some model of syllabus organization. It includes procedures and techniques. When methods have clear procedures informed by a clearly articulated approach they are easy to describe.c) Procedure is an ordered sequence of techniques. A sequence can be described as: first you do this, then this and this. It is smaller than a method and bigger than a technique.

d) Technique is an activity that is a part of a sequence of activities applying a skill in doing something.

! Methods may easily be mixed up with techniques as sometimes techniques generate methods and vice versa.Traditional Methods of Teaching The Cognitive Theory The Cognitive Theory underlays the Grammar Translation Method and according to it the language is a set of rules whether grammatical or communicative which the teacher explains and the learners assimilate. This theory is considered to be the oldest and the newest in the same time as it implies such a term as Monitor Model by means of which the adult learners consciously monitor their speech and are aware of the rules they are using.a) The Grammar Translation Method.The Grammar Translation Method appeared in Germany. The leaders of this school were Johann Seidenstuker and Karl Plotz. It looks upon the language as an intellectual activity. This method was commonly used in Europe to teach Latin and Greek and this is why it is also called the Classical Method. In the XXth century the Grammar Translation Method was used to help students read and appreciate foreign literature. It was considered that through the Grammar of the foreign language the students will get familiar with the grammar of their native language, that they will read and write better in their mother tongue, that it will help them grow intellectually. This method dominated from 1840-1940. The main characteristics of the Grammar Translation Method are:1. The aim of foreign language study is to learn a language in order to read its literature or in order to benefit from the mental discipline and intellectual development that from foreign language study. Grammar Translation is a way of studying a language that approaches the language first through detailed analysis of its grammar rules. 2. Reading and writing are the major focus; little or no systematic attention is paid to speaking or listening.3. Vocabulary selection is solely on the reading texts used, and words are taught through bilingual word lists, dictionary study and memorization. In a typical Grammar-Translation textbook the grammar rule are presented with their translation equivalents, and translation exercises are presented.4. The sentence is the unit of reading and language practice. Much of the lesson is devoted to translating sentences into and out of the target language. 5. Accuracy is emphasized, students are expected to attain high standards in translation.

6. Grammar is taught deductively- that is, by presentation and study of grammar rules, which are then practiced through translation exercises.

7. The students native language is the medium of instruction. It is used to explain new items and to enable comparison to be made between the foreign language and the students native language.

8. Although the Grammar-Translation Method often creates frustration for students, it makes few demands on teachers. It is still used in situations where understanding literary texts is the primary focus of foreign language. b) The Direct MethodGouin had been one of the first of the 19th century reformers to attempt to build a methodology around observation of child language learning, that is to naturalistic principles of studying a language.The principal characteristics of the Direct Method are:

1. Classroom instruction was conducted exclusively in the target language.

2. Only everyday vocabulary and sentences were taught.

3. Oral communication skills were built up in a carefully graded progression organized around question-and-answer exchanges between teachers and students in small, intensive classes.

4. Grammar was taught inductively.

5. New teaching points were introduced orally.

6. Concrete vocabulary was taught through demonstration, objects, and pictures, abstract vocabulary was taught by association of ideas.7. Both speech and listening comprehension were taught.8. Correct pronunciation and grammar were emphasized.

These principles as seen in the following guidelines for teaching oral language are still followed in contemporary Berlitz schools:

- never translate: demonstrate.- never explain: act.- never make a speech: ask questions.- never imitate mistakes: correct.- never speak with single words: use sentences.- never speak too much: make students speak much.

- never use the book: use your own lesson plan.

- never jump around: follow your plan.

- never go too fast: keep the pace of the students.

- never speak too slowly: speak normally

- never speak too quickly: speak naturally.

- never speak too loudly: speak naturally.

- never be impatient: take it easy.

In the Direct Method the four language skills are taught from the beginning, but a special emphasis is placed on speaking. Classes often start with the reading aloud of a specially graded text which introduces the lessons vocabulary and grammatical structural. Practice follows with exercises such as guided conversation, where the teacher asks questions on the students answer using full answers.Teachers sometimes complain that it is time consuming to mime vocabulary, when a simple translation would do. Some words are difficult to mime. Its necessary to use the common sense in the question of translation. c) Audiolingual Method.

This method was influenced by behavioural psychologist who believed that foreign language learning is basically a process of mechanical habit formation like when training an animal to do something. To do this, its necessary to follow a three-stage procedure where the stages are: stimulus, response and reinforcement. For example: signal-light stimulus; the rat presses the bar-response; tasty food- reinforcement.1. The entry of U.S.A into the Second World War had significant effect on language in America. To supply the U.S. Government with personnel who were fluent in foreign languages (German, French, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, etc.) who could work as interpreters, code room assistants, and translators, it was necessary to set up a special language training program. The Government commissioned American universities to develop foreign language programs for military personnel. Thus the Army Specialized Training Program was established in 1942. Fifty five American universities were involved in the program by the beginning of 1943. The objective of the army personnel was for students to attain conversational proficiency in variety of foreign languages. Since this was not the goal of conventional foreign language courses in the US, new approaches were necessary. Linguists, such as Leonard Bloomfield at Yale, had already developed training programs a part of their linguistic research that were designed to give linguistic and anthropologists mastery of American Indian languages and other languages they were studying. Textbooks did not exist for such languages. The technique Bloomfield and his colleagues used was sometimes known as the informant method, since it used a native speaker of the language the informant who served as a source of phrases and vocabulary who provided sentences for imitation, and a linguist, who supervised the learning experience. The Army Specialized Training Program lasted only about two years but attracted considerable attention in the popular press and in the academic community. But the linguists who developed ASTP were not interested primarily in language teaching. The methodology of the Army Method, derived from the intensity of contact with the target language rather than from any well developed methodological basis. It was innovative mainly in its underling theory. However, it did convince a number of prominent linguists of the value of an intensive, oral based approach to the learning of a foreign language. Linguists and applied linguists during this period were becoming increasingly involved in the teaching of English as a foreign language. America had now emerged as a major international power. There was a growing demand for foreign expertise in the teaching of English. Thousands of foreign students entered the United States to study universities, and many of these students required training in English before they could begin their studies. These factors led to the emergence of the American approach to ESL, which by the mid fifties had become Audiolingualism. Distinguishing features. In the Audio-lingual Method, skills are taught in the natural order: listening, speaking, reading, writing. Audio-lingual classes begin with a dialogue, which introduces the lessons sentence patterns. The students memorize this dialogue, then practice grammar in drills such as listen and repeat, substitution, chain, and transformation. Accuracy in pronunciation is emphasized and fostered through minimal pair drills where students learn to differentiate between sounds such as the vowels ship or sheep, hit and heat, bit and beat. Lessons are sequenced according to grammatical complexity. Translation, considered to cause interference from the mother tongue, is not allowed. Learning is tightly controlled by the teacher, who follows the text closely. So, in the Audio-lingual Method:1. Foreign language learning is basically a process of mechanical habit formation. Good habits are formed by giving correct responses rather than by making mistakes. By memorizing dialogues and performing pattern drills the chances of producing mistakes are minimized. Language is verbal behaviour that is, the automatic production and comprehension of utterances and can be learned by inducing the students to do likewise.

2. Language skills are learned more effectively if the items to be learned in the target language are presented in spoken form before they are seen in written form. Aural oral training is needed to provide the foundation for the development of other language skills.

3. Analogy provides a better foundation for language learning than analysis. Analogy involves the processes of generalization and discrimination. Explanations of rules are therefore not given until students have practiced a pattern in a variety of contexts and are taught to have acquired a perception of the analogies. Hence, the approach to the teaching of grammar is essentially inductive rather than deductive. 4. The meaning that the words of a language have for the native speaker can be learned only in a linguistic and cultural context and not in isolation. Teaching a language thus involves teaching aspects of the cultural system of the people who speak the language (Rivers 1964:19-2). Communicative MethodsNo one can learn to communicate in a new language if he is never allowed to make mistakes in it. In late 60s there was seen a shift from the Audio-lingual Method to Communicative language teaching. This shift evolved partly as a result of studies carried out by the Council of Europe, which began to identify the language needed in a variety of social situations by someone immigrating to Common Market countries. The studies sought to evaluate how language itself is used, how native speakers of a language express themselves in various situation. The studies had a major impact on the teaching of English as a foreign language. Teachers and curriculum designers began to look at content, at the kind of language needed when greeting or shopping. The emphasis on form, on explicitly learning grammar rules or practicing grammatical patters, was downplayed in favour of an approach designed to meet learners needs when using the language in daily interaction. The table that follows shows some of the language in daily interaction and some of the differences between Grammar Translation, Audio-lingual and Communicative Language Teaching. A comparison of distinguishing features of three approaches to language teaching Grammar Audiolingual Communic. Tr. Meth. Method Lang. Learn.Grammar rules Central

featureNot explained Explained when Necessary

Meaningful

CommunicationNot importantLimited Central feature

Pronunciation Not consideredTarget

native-like Target

Comprehensible

Use of translationCentral

feature ForbiddenUsed when

necessary

Sequencing of lesson

Follows

linguistic

complexityFollows

linguistic

complexityFollows

learners needs

Teacher- student

Roles Teacher-

centredTeacher-

centredTeacher

facilitates

student-to-

student

interaction

Attitudes to errorsAccuracy

emphasizedAccuracy

emphasizedErrors part of

Learning

Process

Balance of language skills Reading and writing

emphasizedListening and

speaking

emphasizedSkills taught

according to learners needs

According to the Humanistic Theory the aim of learning the target language is not necessarily to communicate with others but also to develop in learners the potential of human beings. The teacher is more an educator than an instructor who focuses more on students personal feelings and emotions. This theory has given birth ot the Communicative language learning. Communicative Language Learning The Communicative Language Learning was developed by H.G. Widdowson. While using this method the emphasis is placed on using the target language to accomplish a function such as complaining, advising, or asking for information; in other words to communicate through interaction. Attention is also paid to the social context in which this function takes place. For instance, different language will be used when complaining to a teacher than when complaining to a close friend. Distinguishing features: All four language skills are taught from the beginning. In speaking the aim is to be understood, not to speak like a native. In the sequencing of lesson, priority is given to learner interests and needs. This is the contrast to the Grammar Translation Method, which may start with verb tenses, and work through from the preset simple to the conditionals. In a Communicative approach if a learner needs to know how to give advice (If I were you, I would) then this conditional is taught. Interaction between speakers and listeners or readers and writers is at the root of all activities. Chapters on teaching Speaking, Reading Listening give many examples of the kind of activities to be found in a classroom following the communicative approach. Learners usually work in pairs or groups for role play, information sharing or problem solving.

Exercises using or recording from the radio, are selected so that learners can practice language in real situations where possible. The Total Physical Response This method was developed by James Asher, a professor of Psychology and encourages teachers to teach the language through physical activity. Involving the use of gamelike movements the Total Physical Response method is intended to reduce learners stress, to create a positive mood and to facilitate learning.

The comprehension skills development is under the major focus, in other words the comprehension abilities will precede productive skills in learning the language. The teaching of speaking must be delayed until comprehension is achieved. Skills are acquired through listening and teaching emphasizes meaning rather than form. Distinguishing features:Skills are taught in natural order

Learners are given different commands

After the first stage students will be ready to speak

After the second stage they will be ready to direct other students

This method is useful and fun and is recommended to be used with beginners. The Acquisition Theory

This theory is based on the distinction between acquisition and learning.

Acquisition is the knowledge leading to common performance, a subconscious process.

Learning is knowledge leading to the ability to monitor the language, a conscious process.

Mirela Codruta Stanisoara proposes 4 theories of acquisition:

1. The Comprehensible Input Acquisition where input is the language that students hear or read and is based on learners previous experience in a context at a higher level. 2. Natural Order Hypothesis that stands for teaching languages in a consequent order(from simple to complicated). 3. The Monitor Hypothesis promotes the idea that acquisition and learning intermingle in the process of production ability to produce utterances and to correct them. 4. The Affective Filter Not only the comprehensible input is necessary for foreign language learning but also the affective factor that functions as a block that prevents language to be acquired. The lower these affective filters(negative emotions such as anxiety, fear, stress) are the more probable the learners will be successful in passing over the barrier of communication while learning the target language. The Acquisition Theory gave birth to the Natural Approach. The Natural Approach The Natural Approach was proposed by Tracy Terrell and incorporated naturalistic principles. It focuses on teaching communicative abilities and views communication as the primary function of language. Language is left to emerge naturally as it is viewed as a vehicle of communicating meanings and messages. This approach also reveals the idea that acquisition can occur when people understand messages in target language. According to the Natural Approach developing the Input Hypothesis is possible when using the following the I+1 formula that stands for having an input before passing to another stage. Learners emotional state and attitudes constitute the filter that impedes or blocks the input. In order to increase the language input, these affective filters should be low, in other words motivated students have better results, those who are self confident are likely to be more successful because their level of anxiety and stress is low and they are not afraid of making mistakes, of feeling discomfort, of looking silly, of being criticized, of participating actively in the learning process. The Competency Based Approach The Competency-Based Approach was developed and applied in the USA to help immigrants and refugees learn English and life skills in the same time. It is based on theories of adult learning which states that in order effective learning to take place; adults need to know that what they are studying will improve their lives. Distinguishing features:

Learners dominate in the Competence-based Approach because language skills, the grammar and vocabulary they study are sequenced according to their needs. Translation is used when necessary for communication. Context is used as much as possible to help the learners induce the meanings of lexical structures or the formation of grammatical structures. Authentic materials are used and the learners are encouraged to practice the language by performing real tasks outside the classroom. Like the Communicative Approach the Competency Based Approach bases its activities on interaction. Pair work and group work are used to generate communication in activities such as problem solving, filling information gaps, questioning, making surveys, etc.Innovative Methods of TeachingThe teacher works with the student, the student works with the language. The Silent Way

The Silent way is a method introduced by Caleb Gategno, a methodologist who revived the interest in the use of coloured wooden sticks called cuisenaire rods and the series of Words in Colour, an approach to the teaching of initial reading in which sounds are coded by specific colours. His materials are copyrighted and marked through an organization he operated, called Educational solutions Inc., in New York. The Silent Way method is based on the premise that the teacher should be silent as much as possible in the classroom and the learner should be encouraged to produce as much language as possible. The Silent Way shares a great deal with other learning theories and educational philosophies. The hypotheses that follow belong to Gategnos work within this method:

1. Learning is facilitated if the learner discovers rather than remembers and repeats what is to be learned. 2. Learning is facilitated by accompanying physical objects.

3. learning is facilitated by problem solving involving the material to be learned, which represent Benjamin Franklins words:

Tell me and I forget,

Teach me and I remember,

Involve me and I learn.

In the Silent Way learners are actively responsible for their own learning. Learning a language is seen not as a process of habit formation like in the Audiolingual Method, but rather a process whereby the learners discover the rules of the target language and then applies those rules to understand and use the language. Mistakes are considered as a part of the process of discovering the rules and the teacher should not interfere in the process by correcting the learners' mistakes. Distinguishing features: All four language skills are taught from the beginning, though reading and writing are sequenced to follow what has been produced orally. Special charts are used to teach pronunciation. First, there is a sound-colour, each one representing a sound in the target language. The teacher and student point to blocks of colour on the chart to form syllables, words and sentences. Second, there are word charts containing words whose letters are colour coded in the same way as the sound-colour chart. The teacher and students make up sentences, point to words on the chart and read the sentences they have written or told. Third, there are sounds of the language with their spelling. For example ay, ea, ei and eigh, which are all different spellings of the sound [ei] in English, they are listed and colour-coded together. Cuisenaire rods(bits of wood varying in length and colour) are used to introduce vocabulary and structures. At the beginning level they can be used to teach numbers and colours(take two red rods). At the intermediate level they can be used to teach comparatives(the red rod is longer than the blue one, the prepositions( the green rod is above the yellow one), the difference between the definite and indefinite articles (take a/ the red rod) with the help of the finger technique. At a later stage they can be used to teach conditionals (If I had a red rod I would give it to you). The Silent way is designed to be used with small groups of learners. Teachers using this method usually undergo intensive training in its techniques and philosophy. The usefulness of this method consists first, in the fact that the knowledge the learners discover for themselves is retained and owned in a more permanent and meaningful way than are materials which have been packaged and only require students to memorize them. Second, there is the idea of peer coaching in a non-competitive environment. Having presented the material, the teacher stands back and lets his students experiment with the rules and generate talk in English. The teachers role during this group work is to make sure that the group atmosphere is open to the contribution of all its members. Community Language Learning Community Language Learning is a method developed by Charles A. Curran and his associates. Curran was a specialist in counselling and a professor of psychology at Loyola University. His application of psychological counselling techniques to learning is known as Counselling Learning. Community Language Learning represents the use of Counselling-learning theory to teach languages.

In Community Language Learning the aim is to involve the learners whole personality. Affective and intellectual well-being is given equal weight. The teacher is the counsellor who gives assistance and support to the learners, who are the clients. The teachers role is to understand learners fears and vulnerabilities as they struggle to master another language. By being sensitive to the learners fears, the teacher can turn their negative energy of these fears into positive energy and enthusiasm to learning. The relationship between the learner and the teacher and among the learners themselves, therefore, take on great importance. The following procedures are typical in a CLL class:

1. Translation. Learners form a small circle. A learner whispers a message or a meaning he or she wants to express. The teacher translates it into the target language and the learner repeats the teachers translation.

2. Group Work. Learners may engage in different tasks such as small group discussion on a topic, preparing a conversation, preparing a summary of a topic for presentation to another group, preparing a story that will be presented to the teacher and the rest of the class.

3. Recording. Students record conversations in the target. Language.

4. Transcription. Students transcribe utterances and conversations they have recorded for practice and analysis of the linguistic forms.5. Analysis. Students analyse and study transcriptions of the target language sentences in order to focus on particular lexical usage or on the application of particular grammar rules

6. Reflection and observation. Learners reflect and report on their experiences as a class or group. They usually consist of expressing feelings-sense of one another, reactions to silence, concern for something to say, etc.

7. Listening. Students listen to a monologue involving elements they might have elicited or overheard in class interaction.8. Free conversation. Students engage in free conversation with the teacher or with other learners. This might include discussion of what they learned as well as feelings they had about how they learned. Like the Silent Way, CLL is a method which works best in small groups and which requires special training for its teachers. It also includes useful principles which can easily be implemented during the lessons. You can lower the stress of your students by making your goals and expectations clear, by coaching your students in examination strategies, and by providing lively activities which make learning funny. CLL encourages learners to produce their own materials. Helping the students to write their stories which are then published in the school magazine, organizing them to write and act plays or skits, and developing project work, the teacher may accomplish two goals: to give students a sense of ownership and pride and to sidestep the problem of trying to teach with few or inadequate textbooks. Suggestopedia Suggestopedia is a method developed by the Bulgarian psychiatrist educator Georgi Lozanov. Suggestopedia is a specific set of learning recommendations derived from Suggestology-a study concerned with the systematic study of the nonrational and/or nonconscious influences that human beings are constantly responding to. Lozanov believes that the power of suggestion(learning a foreign language successfully) is in desuggestion(lowering students psychological barriers to learning). He has developed the process of desuggestion which is designed to promote a relaxed frame of mind and to convert learners fear into positive energy and enthusiasm for language learning. So before we suggest, we must desuggest a lot. Distinguishing features:

In Suggestopedia great attention is paid to environment. The seating is as comfortable as possible, the light is not harsh, Baroque music plays on the background. Colourful posters and charts are pinned on the wall. The posters show attractive sights in the target language country. The charts contain grammatical information which in causal readings the students will absorb without conscious effort. This is called peripheral learning. The Suggestopedia teachers tone is always calm as students are reassured that language learning is easy and fun. The Suggestopedia lesson consists of three stages:1. Deciphering-the teacher introduces the grammar and the vocabulary.

2. Concert session-that is divided into two substages

a) active-the teacher reads the text at a normal speed and students follow;

b) passive-the students relax, close their eyes and listen to the teacher reading the text calmly. Music is played in the background. The left column of the text is given in the target language; the right column is in students mother tongue. c) Elaboration- students finish what they have learned with dramas, songs and games.

For homework, the students are asked to read the text just before going to bed and on getting up in the morning. The teacher leads the class in role play, question and answer and other activities based on the text. During these activities students are invited to use their imagination and to take on new names and new personalities in the target language. They are encouraged to visualize themselves as successful people in their new identities with exciting jobs and good standing in the society. Having described briefly some of the methods of teaching English as a foreign language, we may conclude that no one is sufficient on its own. Whiled teaching, different learning styles should be taken in consideration; especially those you feel working best with your students in different surroundings. The main thing is that your students should be interested in learning the language.UNIT II: STUDYING LANGUAGE SYSTEMTopics:

1. Teaching Listening

2. Teaching Speaking

3. Teaching Reading

4. Teaching Writing

5. Teaching Pronunciation

6. Teaching Vocabulary

7. Teaching Grammar

8. Teaching with Video TEACHING LISTENING Listening skills are very important in language learning as we cannot develop speaking skills unless we also develop listening ones; to have a successful conversation learners must understand what is said to them. The language may be also listened to while watching films, listen to radio programs or while listening to foreign visitors.

To develop this ability, learners need plenty of practice in listening to English at a normal speed. In real life we listen to a variety of things starting with radio and music and finishing with lectures, talks, instructions, directions, announcements, conversations, debates, stories, jokes, sounds like footsteps, laughter, screaming, telephone rings, etc. Why do we listen? We may listen for information, for pleasure, for feedback, attitudes, turn-taking, testing.

Listening involves more skills and these are: phoneme discrimination, word recognition, identification of stress, intonation, predict and infer the development of message, process/challenge ongoing message, creative/ active perception and linguistic knowledge.

Ana Gorea distinguishes two types of listening:

a)casual listening-listening with no particular purpose(for example listening to the radio while doing homework)

b) focused listening-listening for a particular purpose, to find out the information that we need to know(for example listening to a piece of news on the radio, listening to someone explaining how to operate a machine, or to do some job). In this situation we listen much more closely. Jeremy Harmer proposes two other types of listening:

a) extensive listening- where the teacher encourages his students to choose for themselves what they listen to and to do so for pleasure and general language improvement. It will usually take place outside the classroom, in the students home, car or on personal stereos as they travel from a place to another.

b) intensive listening listening to taped material during the lesson at the teachers choice or provided by the coursebook.

If the teacher decides to give students a listening task it is necessary to take the following steps:1. prepare the students for what they are going to hear;

2. never ask the students just to listen;

3. make sure the tasks you ask students to do are realistic and varied as possible;

4. introduce the topic(predict what it is going to be about);

5. pre-teach the vocabulary;

6. give guiding questions before listening;7. divide(if necessary) the listening into stages: first step(listen for main idea only, to answer the guiding questions, this helps to focus on main points); second step(listen for details).8. vary the question types you use with the students;9. train the students not to expect to understand every word they hear;

10. vary the types of listening(tapes, videos, teacher, other students, visitors, conversations, announcements, songs, news broadcasts, weather forecasts, poems, etc.).

If the teacher uses recorded material, he must make sure that the quality of tapes is good, that the recorder functions well, that there is electric power in the classroom when he intends to use it. There are some advantages and disadvantages in using intensive listening:a) advantages:- variety of voices, native speakers;

-recorded material is useful for listening to dialogues, interviews;

-the cassette can be stopped and played back;

- taped materials are extremely portable and readily available;

-most coursebooks include listening exercises, cassettes, and tapescripts.

b) disadvantages:

- in classrooms with bad acoustics listening may be difficult;

-listening is more difficult as there is no eye contact, no clues, no gestures, no lip movement;-everybody has to listen at the same speed, a speed dictated by the tape, not by the listeners;

Types of Listening TasksGood listening exercises are characterized by the following:

provide interesting content;

include listening preparation;

offer visual support;

encourage whole-message listening;

encourage listening for specific details;

communicate real meaning;

require listener response

Tony Lynch in Listening proposes the following listening tasks:

Listen and do

During or after listening students are asked to perform some non-linguistic actions: numbering a drawing, completing a map, ordering items in a list, matching items, labelling, ticking.Listen and do nothing

Listen to a story or a poem.Listen and follow

Matching what students hear with a visual. Students may have a map or a picture and have to follow a route according to the tape.

Listen and respond

Affective response. Students listen and are then asked whether they liked/disliked the text, who they sympathized with, etc.Listen and answerStudents have to find answers to questions: true/false, Wh-questions, multiple choice, etc.Listen and compare

Listening for(dissimilarities, between two(or more) language inputs like jigsaw listening or a mix of print and tape materials( for example radio and press reports on main incident).

Listen and complete Gap-filling. Cloze type exercises; listening cloze(with words) masked by noise.Listen and predict

Partial text provided and students have to anticipate the next move or outcome. What will Mrs. X say next? How will Mr. Y respond? How will the story end?Listen and correct

Students have a printed text which they alter to match the spoken version. Listen and write

Students take notes as they listen in order to prepare a summary or to reach agreement as to what was said.Listen and discussUsing tape as information source for oral interaction

Deduction or assessment of information, problem-solving, etc.Listen and reactExpressing value judgements. Students are asked to evaluate opinions given or actions described on tape. For example: Did X do the right thing?Pre-Listening Activities

Pre-Listening is the period of time before the teacher presses the button play on the tape- recorder or before the material is read. The teacher must prepare very well if he wants to hive students a listening task. Mr. Underwood in Teaching Listening (1989) suggests the following pre-listening activities:

-looking at pictures and talking about them;

-looking at a list of items/thoughts;

-making lists of possibilities/ideas, suggestions, etc.;

-reading a text;

-reading through questions (to be answered while listening);

-labelling;

-completing part of a chart;

-predicting/speculating;

-pre-listening language

-informal teacher talk and class discussion.While-Listening Activities

While-listening is the period of time that begins when the teacher starts reading something to students or when he presses the button play and ends when he presses the button stop or finishes reading something to students. Here are some while-listening activities:

-marking/checking items in pictures;

-matching pictures with what is heard;

-storyline picture sets;

-putting pictures in order;

-completing pictures;

-picture drawing;

-carrying out actions;

-making models/arranging items in pictures;

-following a route;

-completing grills;

-form/chart completion;-labelling;

-using lists; listing;

-true/false;

-multiple-choice questions;

-text completion(gap-filling);

-spotting mistakes;-predicting;

-seeking specific items of information;

-extending lists;

-sequencing/grading;

-matching with a reading text;

-extending notes into written responses;

-summarizing;

-using information for problem solving and decision making activities;

-jigsaw listening;

-identifying relationships between speakers;

-establishing the mood/ attitude/ behaviour of the speaker.

Post-Listening Activities Post-listening is the period of time after the teacher presses the button stop or finishes reading to students. Here are some post-listening activities:

-role-play/simulation;-dictation;

-summarizing;

-reproduction;

-decision-making activities.

TEACHING SPEAKING

Speaking as a skill has emerged as a need to express ones thoughts, feelings, experience. This information exchange takes place when there is something that one person does not know and wants to find out, and that is why he or she is asking a question. We can say that a person has a communicative need. Very often we talk in order to tell people things they do not know, or to find things out from other people. The speaking skill implies two characteristics:

b)fluency- the ability to speak at a normal speed, not too quickly, not too slowly.

The ability to speak fluently presupposes not only a knowledge of language features but also the ability to process information and language on the spot.Among the elements of spoken production, are the following:

1. Connected speech: effective speakers of English need to be able not only to produce individual phonemes of English(as in saying I would have gone), but also to use fluent connected speech (as in Idve gone). In connected speech sounds are modified(assimilation), omitted(elision), added(linking r), or weakened(through contractions and stress patterning).2. Expressive devices: native speakers of English change the pitch and stress of particular parts of utterances, vary volume and speed, and show by other non-verbal means how they are feeling. They allow the extra expression of emotion and intensity.3. Lexis and grammar: spontaneous speech is marked by the use of a number of common lexical phrases, especially in the performance of certain language functions. Teachers should therefore supply a variety of phrases for different functions such as agreeing or disagreeing, expressing surprise, shock, or approval.

4. Negotiation language: effective speaking benefits from the negotiatory language we use to seek clarification and to show the structure of what we are saying. We often need to ask for clarification when we are listening to someone else talk. A useful thing teachers can do is to offer them phrases like Im sorry I didnt quite catch that, Im sorry, I dont understand, Could you explain that again, please?. When speakers do not know a word or just cannot remember it, they may employ some or all of the strategies to resolve the difficulty they are encountering:1. Improvising: speakers sometimes try any word or phrase that they can come up with in the hope that it is about right. Such improvisations sometimes work, but they can also obscure meaning.

2. Discarding: when speakers simply cannot find words for what they want to say, they may discard the thought that they cannot put into words.

3. Foreignising: when operating in a foreign language, speakers sometimes choose a word in a language they know well(such as their first language) and foreignise it in the hope that it will be equivalent to the meaning they wish to express in the foreign language.

4. Paraphrasing: speakers sometimes paraphrase, talking about something for cleaning the teeth if they do not know the word toothbrush , or saying that they are not happy with somebody when they want to say that they are really fed up. Such lexical substitution or circumlocution gets many speakers out of trouble, though it can make communication longer and more convoluted. Besides the strategies mentioned above, there is another factor that has an impact upon good speakers productive abilities. These are rapid processing skills that talking necessitates:

1. Language processing: effective speakers need to be able to process language in their own heads and put it into coherent order so that it comes out in forms that are not only comprehensible, but also convey the meanings that are intended.

2. Interacting with others: most speaking involves interaction with one or more participants. This means that effective speaking also involves a good deal of listening an understanding of how the other participants are feeling, and a knowledge of how linguistically to take turns or allow others to do so.3. On-the-spot information processing: quite apart from our response to others feelings, we also need to be able to process the information the moment we get it. The longer the pause between the information is got and the response is formulated, the less effective we are as instant communicators. However, it should be remembered that this instant response is very culture-specific, and is not prized by speakers in many other language communities. The classroom interaction while teaching speaking can be of two types: teacher controlled and learner directed. When it is teacher controlled it gives students practice in grammar and vocabulary (accuracy work). Learner directed is putting the stress on fluency through a combination of pair work and group work. It is important that students benefit from either work. Accuracy activities can be controlled by the teacher and done by the whole class(with such activities like: drills, games, controlled conversation, listening, writing) or directed by the learners and done in groups and pairs( with such activities like: exercises, controlled conversation, role play, games, questionnaires, listening, writing). Fluency activities can be controlled by the teacher and done by the whole class( with activities like: conversation, discussion, simulation, games, story-telling, listening, writing) or directed by the learners and done in groups or pairs(with activities like: discussion, games, role play, project work, debate, listening, reading, writing).Communicative activities

There are many available ways of making learners speak. A wonderful one is to practice using pictures. Pictures may serve as an endless source of talking. Here are some activities that may improve learners speaking skills:1. Predict the picture

You may tell your learners that you have a picture but dont show it to them. You only say that there is a man, a woman and a train in the picture. The learners must find out exactly what the picture is about by asking questions. You can answer only Yes/ No questions, but you can help by giving hints(for ex: you still dont know where the train is). After that you can draw the picture on the board as the students describe it. And then show the real one. With senior learners you make take a more complicated picture, show it to the class for an instant, then ask questions of the type: Where do you think the action takes place? What have you seen in the picture? Everybody is given the opportunity to say what he thinks he saw in the picture. After everybody gave his opinion show the picture to the class and describe it, letting the learners give their opinions of what they think it suggests.2. Put the pictures in order This is a very interesting way of making learners talk. There should be a series of pictures connected by the same content, each picture showing a different action. They are cut separately and each student gets one. They shouldnt show the pictures to each other. Students take turns in describing what they see in their pictures. When one student talks, the rest must listen attentively as latter they will have to decide on the correct sequence of the actions. When everybody finished describing, students get engaged in discussing what in their opinion, might be the correct sequence, they may ask any questions, but they mustnt show the pictures yet. When they believe they reach a final decision, they put the pictures face up in the sequence they have decided upon. During the activity the teacher is silent, though the teacher should foresee what vocabulary the students might need and present the words beforehand. In the end the teacher may give the glue. The most important thing about such an activity is that everybody has the chance to participate in the discussion. Guessing is not central though. Its a wonderful way of practicing grammar, such as Present Progressive, Present Perfect, etc.3. Spot the differences

For this activity it is necessary to have two identical pictures but which contain some slight differences in them, it may be the colour, a missing button, a different position, etc. The teacher should have enough copies of pictures for each pair of learners. One student will ask questions, and the other will answer them until all the differences are spot. Its good to tell learners initially how many differences they have to find. 4. Complete the drawing

Its a good activity especially for learning the use of prepositions, things in a flat, pieces of furniture, etc. Two students have the same drawings of a room for example with the difference that in one picture is placed and in the other there is no furniture. By asking questions the student that has the empty picture room must guess where it stands and complete his drawing, so that it is identical with the other students.5. Photos

Any photos can also serve as means of developing speech habits. They may be photos of learners families, old photos with their grandparents, etc. They may speak about the people in them, the way they look like, the way they are dressed, what relations are among them, when the photo was taken, what was the occasion, etc.6. Guessing

Guessing is a perfect way of making learners ask questions and practice grammar. The teacher, may for example want the learners to repeat asking general questions in the Past Simple Tense. The teacher says: Yesterday I went somewhere and I did something. Guess where I went and what I did. Learners take turns in asking questions of the type: Did you go to the market? Did you go to the hospital? The teacher might have thought that she went to the bank to pay some bills. If students guess quickly the activity might be continued by asking how the teacher went to the bank. Did you go by bus? Did you go by bike? The activity may be often repeated and students themselves have the role of the ones who think of something to be guessed.7. Guess who I am?

A student may think that he/she is a famous person and the rest ask questions of the type: Are you dead or alive? Are you English? Are you a writer? Until they guess who the person pretended to be is.8. Miming

Miming is another way of guessing especially when practicing Present Progressive. One student mimes an activity and the rest have to guess the situation: opening a can, changing the light bulb, etc.

9. Unfinished sentences

Its a source of beginning a conversation. Students are given a list with unfinished sentences and picking any at their choice they have to develop it into a discussion. The sentences might be composed according to the age, pupils abilities and the taught topics.10. Find someone who

This kind of conversation implies moving too, getting a list of suggested actions students have to walk round the class talking to the classmates and find two other people who do the activities suggested in the list.

11. Who scores more?

The class may be divided into two groups and asked to fill out a list of different things that begin with the same letter of the alphabet. That may be the name of an insect, a kind of sport, an object, an article of clothing, an animal or bird, a town, a means of transport, a colour. If both groups name the same word, each gets one point, if they name different things, they get two points. In the end the total number of points is counted and the winner is announced. The success of the speaking activities will greatly depend on the teachers abilities of organizing the work. Speaking activities should be practiced as often as possible. Speaking may be also done on the basis of a reading or a listening activity, even writing.

TEACHING READING In real life we do not normally read because we have to but because we want to. We usually have a purpose in reading: there is something we want to find out, some information we have to check or clarify, some opinions we want to match against our own. David Nunan in Designing Tasks for the Communicative Classroom adopts some other purposes: to obtain instructions on how to perform some tasks for our work or daily work, to act in a play, play a game, do a puzzle, to keep in touch with friends by correspondence or to understand business letters, for enjoyment or excitement, to find out how a story develops What will happen next? We do not usually begin reading with a completely empty mind, we have some idea of what we are going to read about. We will usually have some certain questions in our mind(things we want to know) and we may also be able to make a number of predictions or guesses(things that we expect to find out). Newspaper headlines, book titles, chapter headings often make us think about the text before we begin to read. If, for example, we have a newspaper headline Plane Crashes in Desert we think that the article will probably give details of the crash, explain how it happened, what caused it, etc. Then we ask questions that we may have in mind: Which desert? Where? Any survivors? How did it happen? Whose fault? Which airline? Was anyone I know involved? Questions and guesses make us want to read (because we want to know the answers), and they also help us read( because we are looking for particular information). As we read, we can partly predict what we will find in the text. It is important to give reasons for reading and to give the students information so that they want to find the answer to. This can be done in two ways:

- be giving a few questions to students to think about as they read and discussing the answers afterwards(they are called guiding questions or support questions.

-by organizing an activity before the students read a text, which arouses their interest in the topic and makes them want to read. As reading, as listening is a receptive skill, a lesson based around the comprehension of a reading text is similar in many ways to that designed to practise listening skills.

The different ways of reading:

skimming -when reading a newspaper we often glance over the headlines until we find on article that cathes our interest. If we are in a hurry we read through the article quickly probably not reading every word, maybe reading only the first sentence of each paragraph.

Scanning -next we may want to see whats on T.V. this evening at 8 oclock.. We are unlikely to start reading from the beginning of the list of programmes starting with whats on at 6 oclock in the morning. Instead our eyes move quickly over the page until we find 8. p.m and then we start reading the details of the programmes.

Intensive reading. In the same newspaper we may find something that we want to read in detail. Perhaps the article we skim read at first is really interesting and we want to read it again in order to make a mental note of some details.

Extensive reading. This is the way we usually read when we are reading for pleasure perhaps a navel or a biography.

2. Stages in a reading skills lesson.

before reading

Encourage the students to think about and discuss what they are going to read. Consider whether there are any key words which you want to teach before the students read the text.

- first reading

1. Set a task to assist overall understanding (question,task,etc).

2. The students read the text.

3. Feedback.

- Second reading

Teaching Basic ReadingIf the teacher works with learners beginners, where they only begin to study English, it is necessary first of all to teach TEACHING WRITING.

Writing as a skill is very important in teaching and learning a foreign language, first of all, it helps pupils to assimilate letters and sounds of English language, secondly, because together with speaking, listening and reading, form the four language skills without which a foreign language cannot be taught. It is important for everyone, especially for pupils and students to know how to write essays, letters, compositions, dictations. Writing is the result of employing strategies to manage the composing process, which is one of gradually developing a text. That is why, Writing is a means of teaching a foreign language. It involves a number of activities: setting goals, generating ideas, organizing information, setting appropriate language, making a draft, reading and reviewing it, then revising and editing. The writing process was recursive and generative, with students re-reading their work, assessing it, reacting and moving on. Without knowing how to write, we wont be able even to communicate with people through letters or e-mail. We should know how to write correctly a sentence, because in English there is a specific structure of writing a sentence.

It the 1970s the interest developed that second language writers actually do as they write, motivated largely by a belief that if we wish to influence and improve the outcomes of writing for our learners, then we need to understand how a piece of writing comes into being. A big concern of researchers into second language writing has been to identify these mental operations, and a number of research methods have been used to do this: interviews, observation, audio and video recording. The writing process was recursive and generative, with pupils re-reading their work, assessing it, reacting, and moving on.

The greatest disadvantage of teaching writing is that many pupils hate the writing process. Some of them think that it is not so important to write an information or an exercise in their copybooks. From their point of view, it is easier to circle the correct answer in their books, or to try to memorize what teacher says than to put down the information. Many pupils think that writing takes a long time to be taught and beginning with the first steps in studding a foreign language, teachers should know how to attract pupils attention and to make the rules easier to be understood. Pupils learn to write letters, words, and sentences in the target language more successfully if the understand what they write, have good patterns to follow, and make a lot of attempts in writing what they are satisfied that the work is well done. The most important thing is that we should teach pupils depending on their age, interests and level. We can identify the range of written products that any particular group of pupils needs. For example, in English the convention and stile of formal and informal letters differ, and both may differ in format and style from letters written in the pupils native language. And many pupils enjoy the change to be creative with writing. We can give beginners to write simple poems, intermediate learners we can give a dictation, and for advanced learners it is better to write an essay.

First of all, before writing an essay we should take into account the four stages of writing an essay which are: Prewriting, Writing, Revision and Publishing. Ron White and Valerie Arndt want to stress that writing is re-writing; that re-vision seeing with new eyes has a central role to play in the act of creating text.3

Beginning with Prewriting, we have to be sure that we have chosen the right theme for the right person or a group of pupils, because we cannot give the beginners the same themes we give to advanced learners. The reason is that the beginners dont have a sufficient rich vocabulary to make a good essay which can be written by the advanced learners. And again, we cannot give to the four grade pupils the same themes as we give to seven, ten, or twelve grades pupils.

Discussing with pupils, teachers have to find an interesting theme for the essay. For example, for the four grade teachers can give pupils to write a short essay about their best friend, or about their pet. Beginning with the seventh and eighth grades, we can give pupils the possibility to choose from such themes as: My ideal place, or The day I will never forget. Even at these ages (13 15), pupils dont have a large experience of life. They will have to imagine or to think maybe of something impossible. For the eleventh and twelfth grades the best themes for essays can be:

If I were millionaire

The diseases of the XX-th century.

Drugs.

Lets analyze the last one:

Theme Drugs is too general and it can be difficult for pupils to speak about it, that is why teachers can give some options as:

The relation between infected people and the others.

Diseases which are connected with drugs.

Pupils can choose one option given by the teacher or to write their own subthemes.

Some pupils do very well on essays. If they have learned how to read essays questions, if they have had experience organizing their thoughts quickly, if they have had quick editing skills, they were likely to succeed. It is good for those pupils who are familiar with these skills, but many pupils, still have no idea of how they should write an essay. Many times this happens because the questions are not clear for pupils and some of them are ashamed to ask their teacher for explanation. Well constructed essay questions often use a series of code words that pupils must understand: describe, discuss, compare, contrast, explain, comment..If teachers see that pupils are confused with understanding these words, they have to explain and analyze them, by giving examples. The most common mistake is that almost all pupils do not taught the theme they have chosen. In this case the help of the teacher is inevitable. When pupils ask questions, teachers have to help them. If a pupil do not understand the key word describe the teacher have to give some examples which involves this term. These themes can be given for little children.

Describe your mothers appearance.

Describe your first day at school.

But if the key word is not understood by the 12-th grade pupils, they may be ashamed to ask for explanation. The role of the teacher is to be sure that all pupils understand about what they have to write. If they do not understand the word comment, the teacher has to ask questions which involves this word. For example, she can ask pupils to comment on the following proverbs:

Never put of till tomorrow what you can do today.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating

Practice makes perfect

If the teacher shows her authority and does not want to explain questions to pupils, she does nothing instead of creating a barrier between whole the whole class and herself. When pupils try to give some of their ideas, teachers have to support them and to encourage them by saying that their ideas are good. Many studies support the need f