Balance in Language Teaching

1. Balance in Language Teaching Dr Rob Waring Jeju SETA November 25, 2011

2. The goals of language teaching Ensure they can read, write, speak and listen Build pragmatic, cultural as well as linguistic knowledge Develop learning strategies Develop independence Develop a sense of ownership of the language Build confidence and a ‘can do’ attitude

3. What do learners need to know? Learners need 7000-8000 word families to read native novels easily About 2000 everyday words occur in all types of English. Learners need ‘specialist words’ as well. There are two stages in word learning. 1. The form-meaning relationship (its pronunciation, spelling and meaning) 2. The deeper word knowledge • its different meanings • Its derivations (useful, useless, uselessness, etc.) • if it’s typically spoken, or written • if it’s useful or rare, polite or rude • the topic are we usually find it in (e.g. science, music, biology) • its collocations and colligations

4. What’s a collocation? Collocations are words which often appear together. We sayWe don’t (usually) say beautiful girl handsome girl blonde hair yellow hair big surprise large surprise black and white white and black go to work go to job catch fire do fire / go fire high cost expensive cost demand a response ask a response make a mistake do a mistake

5. What’s a colligation? Colligations are words which often appear together grammatically We sayWe don’t (usually) say depend on someone depend of someone be good at something be good on something ask for something ask on something give something to someone give something someone

6. What collocations do they need to learn? Verb uses of one word - Idea…“Abandon an idea.” abandon, absorb, accept, adjust to, advocate, amplify, advance, back, be against, be committed/dedicated/ drawn to, be obsessed with, be struck by, borrow, cherish, clarify, cling to, come out/up with, confirm, conjure up, consider, contemplate, convey, debate, debunk, defend, demonstrate, develop, deny, dismiss, dispel, disprove, distort, drop, eliminate, encourage, endorse, entertain, explode, explore, expound, express, favor, fit, fit in with, follow up, form, formulate, foster, get, get accustomed/used to, get rid of, give up, go along with, grasp, hammer out, have, hit upon, hold, implement, imply, impose – on sb, incorporate, inculcate, instill, jot down, keep to, launch, meet, modify, negate, oppose, pick up, pioneer, plant, play with, popularize, present, promote, propose, put an end to, put forward, put – into practice, raise, refute, reinforce, reject, relish, resist, respond to, revive, ridicule, rule out, spread, squash, stick to, subscribe to, suggest, support, take to, take up, test, tinker with, toy with, turn down, warm to …

7. What else do they need to know? III Lexical phrases and chunks of language How’s things? I’d rather not … If it were up to me, I’d … So, what do you think? We got a quick bite to eat. What’s the matter? What do you mean by that? Well, what do you know? Look what the cat just dragged in Plus THOUSANDS more

8. What else do they need to know? IV The grammar systems (e.g. the present perfect tense) A government committee has been created to … He hasn’t seen her for a while, has he? No, he hasn’t. Why haven’t you been doing your homework? There’s been a big accident in Market Street. Have you ever seen a ghost? It’s very hard to see the patterns – there are many forms: Statement, negative, yes/no and wh- question forms, Simple or continuous Active or passive Short answers and questions tags (Yes, I have. …… hasn’t he?) Regular and irregular - has vs. havewalked vs. bought Present perfect for ‘announcing news’, PP for ‘experiences’, etc. etc.

9. The forms of the present perfect tense I have been given. You have been given. He/she/it has been given. We have been given. They have been given. Have I been given? Have you been given? Has he/she/it been given? Have we been given? Have they been given? I haven’t been given. You haven’t been given. He/she/it hasn’t been given. We haven’t been given They haven’t been given. What have I been given? What have you been given? What has he/she/it been given? What have we been given? What have they been given? I have been giving. You have been giving. He/she/it has been giving. We have been giving. They have been giving. Have I been giving? Have you been giving? Has he/she/it been giving? Have we been giving? Have they been giving? I haven’t been giving. You haven’t been giving. He/she/it hasn’t been giving. We haven’t been giving They haven’t been giving. Yes, I have. No, I haven’t. Yes, you have. No, you haven’t. Yes, he/she/it has. No, he/she/it hasn’t. Yes, we have. No, we haven’t. Yes, they have. No, they haven’t ……, have I? ….., haven’t I? ……, have you? ……, haven’t you? ….., has he/he/it? ….., hasn’t he/she/it? ….., have we? ..…, haven’t we? ….., have they? ….., haven’t they? I have given. You have given. He/she/it has given. We have given. They have given. Have I given? Have you given? Has he/she/it given? Have we given? Have they given? I haven’t given. You haven’t given. He/she/it haven’t given. We haven’t given They haven’t given. What have I given? What have you given? What has he/she/it given? What have we given? What have they given?

10. How long will it take to teach them? • An average word needs 30-50 meetings for it to be learnt receptively from reading (more for productive use) • An average word’s meaning takes 10-15 meetings to learn from word cards or word lists • To learn the collocations and ‘deeper’ aspects of language learning takes MUCH longer. • There’s little research into the rate learning of collocation, colligation or lexical phrases from reading • We know nothing at all about how long it takes to master a particular grammatical form e.g. a tense

11. How well are our courses presenting the language students need? Research suggests an average language course: • does not systematically recycle the grammatical forms outside the presentation unit / lesson • has an almost random vocabulary selection without much regard to frequency or usefulness (mostly based on topic) • rarely, if ever, recycles taught words either later in the unit, the book, or the series • provide little additional practice in review units or workbooks • has an overwhelming focus on new material in each lesson

12. The number of words a learner will probably learn from course work (225,000 words over 3 years) Data from Sequences, Foundations, Page Turners and Footprints by Heinle Cengage 225,000 60,800 570,000 174,000 (=1,029,000)

13. How are we going to teach what? Register, Genre … Pragmatic knowledge Restrictions on use Most collocations and collocations A ‘sense’ of a word’s meaning and use A ‘sense’ of how grammar fits with lexis - the tenses, articles etc. Discourse level awareness Individual words Important lexical phrases False friends Loanwords Important collocations and colligations Basic grammatical patterns Important phrasal verbs, idioms etc. Word, phrase and sentence level awareness  Incidental learning e.g extensive reading  Intentional learning e.g word cards Selection issues – what do we teach? Sequence issues – in what order? Scaffolding issues – how do we consolidate previous learning? Presentation issues – what method? Rough grading Ensuring recycling Engaging text Matching input text to intentionally learnt materials

14. Short texts Many exercises A Typical Reading Text Many difficult words Definitions given

15. What’s the optimum vocabulary coverage for building fluency? Reading Pain (too hard, poor comprehension, high effort, de-motivating) Intensive reading (Instructional level, can learn new words and grammar) Extensive reading (fast, fluent, adequate comprehension, enjoyable) Speed reading practice (very fast, fluent, high comprehension, natural reading, enjoyable) 90% 98% 100% % of known vocabulary Slow High Reading speed Low High Comprehension

16. Graded readers

17. Graded readers are GRADED Native books Phonics Easy vocab More difficult vocab Easy grammar More difficult grammar

18. Why can’t Korean students read, listen, speak and write well? Their language knowledge is often abstract, separated, discrete and very fragile to forgetting There’s too much work on “the pieces-of-language” and not enough comprehensible, meaningful discourse They haven’t met the words and grammar enough times to feel comfortable using it They CANNOT speak until they feel comfortable using their knowledge Not enough exposure. To acquire a 7000 word vocabulary requires them to meet about 10-15,000,000 words. A typical Junior high 3-year course book series has 250,000 words. They haven’t developed a ‘sense’ of language yet

19. Questions Make a list of say 20 activities you (or your students) most often do in your classes. e.g. explain things on the board, use the course book, discussions, pronunciation practice, read aloud, ……. Compare with a partner

20. The Balanced Curriculum

21. The Balanced Curriculum Build language knowledge and get control over it Develop learning strategies Develop a sense of how the language works Build autonomy Build pragmatic and cultural knowledge

22. Balance in Language Teaching • - provides new knowledge about language features • -raises awareness of how the language works • - raises awareness of learning strategies • -gives practice in checking • whether something is known • - allows learners to actively • construct language • - focuses on accurate control over language features • - Learners get a feel for how the language works • - consolidates the discretely learned language features • - allows learners to meet huge amounts of text • - gives real time opportunities to experiment with language use • - gives feedback on the success of language use • - builds fluency of language production

23. The Balanced Curriculum Box 1 - Formal Learning Building knowledge about the language Awareness raising Box 2 - “Getting Control” Linking knowledge Accuracy focus Box 3 - Fluency Input Networking knowledge Comprehending input fluently Box 4 - Fluency Output Experimenting with language Developing fluency

24. How does learning happen? “Then they saw an ancient temple …” Understand and add to our knowledge Get feedback Correct use Notice something Try it out Incorrect use We don’t understand Get more input

25. The Cycle of Learning Notice something Add to our knowledge Get more input (feedback) Try it out

26. The Balanced Curriculum and the Cycle of Learning Notice things Add to your knowledge Get more input Try it out (controlled) Notice things Add to your knowledge Get more input Try it out (free production)

27. What happens if they don’t do these things? - Fewer chances to notice new things - Hard to add new knowledge - Can’t check the accuracy of what they learnt - Not enough input - Few chances to develop automatic processing - Can’t develop fluent eye movements - Can’t experiment with their knowledge fluently

28. Beginner (young learners)Aim: basic language building Phonics Matching sounds to words Flashcards Games Some basic word order Read and repeat Listening to VERY easy stories Read along with the teacher Read aloud

29. Lower ElementaryAim: Consolidation Alphabet Flashcards Word study Some grammar Study skills Spelling Writing simple sentences Fun tests to check understanding Simple memorized dialogs Reading very simple stories Listening to simple stories Read aloud

30. Elementary / Lower IntermediateAim: Initial fluency Complex spellings Some tests Controlled production Role-plays Word building Grammar Intensive reading Intensive listening Extensive reading Extensive listening Speed reading Topic controlled conversation Free chatting Journals / diaries Emails

31. IntermediateAim: Fluency and speed Intensive reading Collocation Colligation Lexical chunks Control over complex discourse markers Cohesion, coherence Extensive Reading Extensive Listening Simple movies Simple songs Speed reading Debates Essays Pushed output Speeches Discussions

32. AdvancedAim: High level language control Intensive reading Colligations Idioms etc. High level lexis Native texts Native movies Songs Radio, TV shows Debates Formal Essays Pushed output Complex discourse

33. Making them fluent Give opportunities for fluency…. Fast and efficient reading and listening practice L ink their practice to real tasks Understanding is primary Encourage speed development work Nurture confidence and motivation Try extensive reading and listening

34. Be careful about using Native-level (L1) materials to build fluency Native books, magazines etc. are too hard to read fluently for MOST Korean learners Children’s books for natives are full of difficult words, phrases and concepts Native children already know 5000 words and almost all the grammar BEFORE they start to read Korean children know almost no English words and no grammar before they start English. Native texts usually are NOT suitable. Don’t confuse the final target (to read native texts) with the starting point and the way to get there.

35. The balance of teacher roles

36. True or false? The balanced curriculum tells us what needs to be done. The balanced curriculum suggests activities be done in the order, Box 1, 2, 3 and then 4. The balanced curriculum should replace your curriculum. Students can easily understand the balanced curriculum. TBC is an ideational framework for teachers planning curriculums and lessons.

37. Thank you for your time Dr. Rob Waring waring_robert@yahoo.com http://www.robwaring.org/presentations/ www.keera.or.kr