Methodology in Language Learning

Methodology in language learning No.2

n g r n i n a e l e g a u la n g n n i y g o l o d M e t h o

www.training-youth.net

Methodology in Language Learning T-kit

Welcome to the T-Kit series Some of you may ha ve won dered : what d oes oes T-ki t mean ? We can offer a t l east ast t wo an swers. wers. The first first i s as si si mpl e as the ful l version version i n Engli sh : “Tra “Tra in in g Ki t”. t”. The se second ha s mor e to do w i th the soun soun d of the word that ma y eas easii ly r ecall “Ti “Ti cket”, one of the travelli ng d ocument s we usuall y need need t o go on a j our ney. So, on the cove cover, r, the litt le figur figur e called “S “Spi ffy” hold s a tr ai n ti cket cket to go on a jou r ney to di scove cover n ew id eas. as. In ou r i ma gin ati on, this T-ki t is a tool that each each of us can use i n our wor k. M ore spe specifi cifically, cally, we woul d l ik e to addr ess youth w ork ers and trai ners and offer offer them theoretical theoretical and p ractical tools to work wi th and use use when trai ni ng young people. people. The T-ki t se ser i es has bee been the resul resul t of a one-year one-year collecti collecti ve effor t i n volv- in g people people from d ifferent ifferent cultu ral , profes profession al an d organ isationa l backgroun ds. Youth tra i ners, ners, youth youth l ead ers in N GOs and profess profession al wr iters have work ed togethe togetherr in order to create create high quali ty publi - cation s whi ch woul d a dd ress ress the nee needs of the tar get get gr oup w hi le recogni recogni sin g the d iversi iversi ty of a ppr oaches oaches across across Europ e to each each subject. subject. Thi s T-ki t i s par t of a ser ser ies of 4 ti tles first publi shed in the ye year 20 00, to be follow ed b y mor e in subseque subsequent nt year year s. It is one of the prod ucts of the Par tnership tnership Progra mm e on Youth Youth Work er Trai ni ng ru n by the Europ ean Comm issi issi on a nd the Coun cil of Eur ope. Bes Besi des the T-k T-k it s, the partn ershi rshi p betwee between t he two in sti tuti ons has result result ed i n other a reas of co-operati on such as tra i ni ng cour ses, the ma gazin e “Coyote” “Coyote” an d a dyn ami c in ter ter net site. site. To fi nd out m ore about developm developm ents in the Par Par tnershi tnershi p (new publi cations, cations, tr ai ni ng course an nou ncements ncements,, etc.) tc.) or to d own load the electron lectron ic version version of the T-ki ts, ts, visit visit t he Par Par tnershi tnershi p w eb sit sit e: www.training-youth.net.

Council of Europe publishing F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex © Council of Europe and and Eur opean opean Com mi ssion, Jul Jul y 2000 Reproduction eproduction of m aterial aterial from thi s publication publication is auth auth orised orised for n on-comm ercial ercial education al purposes purposes only, only, provided t he sour sour ce is quot ed.

This document does not necessarily express the official view of the European Commission or th e Coun Coun cil of Europe, th eir member states states or th e organisa organisation tion s co-opera co-operatin tin g with th e institu tion s.

Methodology in language learning T-Kit

Coordination T-ki T-kitt series series:: Silvi o Martinelli

Cover Page and Spif Spiffy fy Charact Character er The Big Famil Famil y

Editors of this this T-kit: T-k it: Ann e Dussap, Dussap, Phi lip Curr an

A special thank is also due to: Patrick Penni Penni nckx for h aving co-ordi nated the la l aun unch ch of T-kit series, ries, provided provided continu conti nuous ous support and ensured ensured the lin k wi th th e other other projects of t he Partnership Partnership A greement. greement. Ann e Cosgrove Cosgrove and Lena Lena Kalibatait e for th e contribu tion given in t he first phase phase of the project.

(see al so l ast pa ge) Authors of this T-kit: (see Phil ip Cur ran Sandr in e Deguent Sian Wi lli ams Lun Lun d Heather Heather Mi letto Carla Van der Straeten

All the publ ishers ishers and and auth ors that have given permission to reproduce their copyrighted material.

Other contri contributors butors John O’Regan John Waterm Waterm ann Editorial Committee Bernard Abrignani In sti tu t Na ti ona l d e la Je Jeun ess esse et de l’Edu l’Edu cati on Popul Popul ai re Elisabeth Hardt Europ ean Fe Federat ion for Intercultural Intercultural Learni ng Esth er H ookway Lin gua Franca Franca Carol-Ann Carol-Ann M orris European European Youth Foru m Heath er Roy Roy World Ass Associati ociati on of Gi rl Gui des des and Gir l Sc Scouts

Las Last, but not leas least, all t he people that i n dif ferent ferent capac capacit it ies, ies, at at di fferent m oments and i n di fferent fferent ways have have contri contri but ed to make all t hi s poss possibl e!

Secretariat Sabin e Van Van M igem (Admi ni stra tive suppor t) Genevi Genevi eve Woods (Librarian)

Council Council of Europe Directorate of Youth and Sport

European Youth Centre Strasbourg 30 Rue Pierre de Coubertin F-67000 Strasbourg, France Tel: +33-3-8841 2300 – Fax: +33-3-8841 2777

Eur opean Yout Yout h Centre Budapest Budapest Zivatar ucta 1-3 H-1024 Budapest, Hungary Tel: +36 -1-2124078 – Fax: +36-1-212 4076

European European Commission DG Education and Culture Unit D5: Youth Policy and Programme

Rue d e la Loi, 200 B-1049 Brussels, Belgium Tel: +32-2-295 1100 – Fax: +32-2-299 4158


Contents Introduction

................................................................................................................................ 7

1. Reflections on language learning

................................................................................. 9

1.1 Language learning and language teaching ....................................................................... 10 1.2 Roles of learners and facilitators ....................................................................................... 13 1.3 What are learning styles? ....................................................................................................15 1.4 Correction of error s ............................................................................................................ 16

2. Task-Based Learning

......................................................................................................... 21

2.1 Intr oduction and clarifi cation of terms ............................................................................. 21 2.2 Task-Based Language Learning ......................................................................................... 21

2.2.1 Backgroun d t o Task-Based Lan guage Lear ni ng .......................................................... 21 2.2.2 Task-Based La ngu age Lear ni ng ................................................................................... 22 2.2.3 Task- Based m ethod ology .............................................................................................. 23 2.2.4 Lan guage abi li ty and learn in g styles .......................................................................... 27 2.3 Factors t o con sider ............................................................................................................. 27

2.3.1 L ear ners’ profile ............................................................................................................ 27 2.3.2 N egoti ati ng the course content ..................................................................................... 28 2.3.3 Locati on of cour se an d r esour ces avai labl e ................................................................. 28 2.3.4 The in tercultu ral di mension ......................................................................................... 28 2.4 Concrete exampl e of a task: Preparin g a meal ................................................................. 30

3. Examples of Task-Based Learning ............................................................................... 33 3.1 Task from No M aterials ...................................................................................................... 33 3.2 Exploi tation of a phot ograph ............................................................................................. 35 3.3 Exploi tation of a n ewspaper arti cle ................................................................................... 44

4. Selecting and using materials

...................................................................................... 55

4.1 General considerations ...................................................................................................... 55 4.2 Various sources of materials .............................................................................................. 56

4.2.1 M ateri als from the learn ers .......................................................................................... 56 4.2.2 M ateri als from television .............................................................................................. 56 4.2.3 Pi ctures ......................................................................................................................... 57 4.2.4 O bjects as ma teri al s ..................................................................................................... 57 4.2.5 Leafl ets .......................................................................................................................... 58 4.2.6 Ga mes ........................................................................................................................... 58 4.2.7 Songs an d sound s ......................................................................................................... 58 4.2.8 Th e locali ty of t he cour se .............................................................................................. 58 4.2.9 In form ati on technology ................................................................................................ 58


Contents 5. DIY Section and feedback

.............................................................................................. 61

5.1 Introdu ction ........................................................................................................................ 61 5.2 Material ............................................................................................................................... 62 5.3 Blank planning sheet ......................................................................................................... 63 5.4 Materials exploi tation : 101 ways of makin g th e most of w hat you ’ve got ..................... 65

APPENDIX 1: Methodology in language learning T-Kit Evaluation form

....... 67

APPENDIX 2: References and further reading ............................................................ 69 APPENDIX 3: Feedback to DIY section ........................................................................... 71

Introduction

Language skills and intercultural awareness are essential in the organisation of international events. More and more youth organisations now need to be able able to provi de their m embers or European volunteers with the necessary skil ls to commun icate icate in in ternational settings settings (international events or volu nteering in a host country). This T-Kit presents a methodology for l earning l anguage anguage and and developing developing commu nicativ e abil abil it y i n a target target l anguage. anguage. It is not a language method but rather a global methodology inspired by the ‘Task Based Learni Learni ng’ appr oach and approaches base based d on intercultural learning. The authors (language teachers experienced in training European yout h leaders leaders)) have chose chosen n th is methodol ogy becaus because e it simul ates ates auth entic commu nicati on sit uation s, providin g learners learners with th e neces neces-sary v ocabul ocabul ary t o r ealise ealise succes success sfu lly, in th e target target l anguage, anguage, an an activi ty close close to th eir own reality. The methodology has proved to be particularly suited to youth work and nonform al education cont exts. It has been ch ch osen osen amongst many other language teaching/learni ng methodologies becaus because e it can can be b e adapte adapted d to dif ferent ferent target languages languages, to dif ferent ferent learni learni ng environm ents and and to d ifferent learning needs. needs. Fur th ermore, th is meth meth odology requi res acti acti ve parti parti cipation cipation , ini tiativ e and and th e involvement involvement of th e learner. learner. The T-Kit T-Kit has been been prod uced for t he benefit of: trainers/teachers lookin g for an • language trainers/teachers innovative approach to language learning i n a non-formal education education context context • all those helping others in the acquisiti on of language (language (language facili facili tators)


The T-Kit T-Kit is divid ed into six m ain sec secti ti ons from th e theoretical theoretical to t he practical. practical. The aut aut hors also also wanted to give th e user user an an opportunity to develop their own comptencies to impl ement ement th e methodology. At th e end of of the T-Kit T-Kit th ere is a self-tr ainin g section with exercises and some suggestions for t heir u se with learners learners.. Secti ecti on 1 begins with a gene general ral in trod ucti on to language learning learnin g and and teachi teachi ng; it describ describest est h e evolut ion of language teachin teachin g and and l anguage anguage learning approaches, and considers the roles of learners and facilitators (trainers). Section s 2, 3 and 4 present present th e th eory o f Task Task Based Learning and provide some concrete examples of the methodology applied in the context context of non-formal education. education. Secti ecti on 5 is th e trainin g part part of th e T-Kit T-Kit . In th is part part th ere are guid ed exercise exercises s to try out th e meth odology, and and some feedback. feedback. The French version will be slightly different from th e Engli sh T-Kit T-Kit particu larly in i n Section 3, since th e examples examples chose chosen n i n th e Engli Engli sh version are not adaptable to th e French French langu age. age. But, as regards regards th e content,the content ,the two tw o versions are are similar. We hope you wi ll enjoy reading and and u sing t he T-Kit for your t raining and and we look forward forward to receivi receivi ng feedbac feedback k f rom you you about your experiences.

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1. Reflections on language learning

All teachers and learners bring with them a philosophy of what teaching and learning is. This philosophy is more likely to be implicitly rather than explicitly held, especially by learners, ners, and so taken for gr anted. Such phi losophies are formed by our own experiences of educati educati on and learni learni ng from th e earli earli est est days of childhood onwards. We all accept as being th e norm t hose educati educati onal experiences experiences wh ich are part of our socio-cultural context. Only wh en we are are able able to experience experience other approaapproaches ches, are we able to qu esti esti on and evalu ate our own. Pedagogic principles and practice are instilled in trainee teachers and they carry these into the classroom with them. Very rarely are the roles of teachers and learners examined and questioned. In spite of efforts to encourage learner development, learner independence and even autonomous learning, most classroom sit uati ons are are sti sti ll teacher-ce teacher-cent nt red. Thi s is not a crit crit icism, sim sim ply a reportin g of reali reali ty from several observational studies. It’s not surprising. Traditional approaches provide secur ecur it y for all concerned. concerned. However, th e richest richest learning environment will be created by teachers with the range of knowledge and skil ls to vary vary th eir approa approach ch to sui sui t in divi duals and specifi specifi c groups and cont exts. exts. It is also difficult to measure language learning qualitatively. Language is not a body of knowledge, a set of facts, which can be mem ori sed sed and regurgit regurgit ated ated for the purposes purposes of tests and examinati examinati ons. It i s an an in nate hum an abil abil ity and as such organic. It grows and develops in favourable environm ents, ents, shri shri vels with neglect neglect and i s affected affected by emot ion al factors. There There are various levels of competencies which can be meas measur ed bu t each each perform ance of language wil l be different from th e next. Spoken competence is the most immediate but also the most fragile and and v olatile. We all kn ow how articulate, erudite and focussed we can be when sit tin g in a relaxed relaxed group group of fr iends and putt ing the world to rights. But can we do the same in f ront of an audience? Or at a job int erview? Or in the courtroom? Or when we’re tired, un well, in or ou t of l ove? Every h um an factor factor affects our ability to use even our mother tongue competently and all these factors are carri carri ed over in to second econd language context context s.


So, what to do about it ? It is paramoun paramoun t t o bear in mi nd t he aims and and pu rposes rposes of any teachin teachin g situation. Why are people learning the language? By and large, most people l earn earn a second second and subsequent ubsequent languages languages for for on e of th e followin g broad purposes:

• Work • Leisure • Social Integration poses • Academic Pur poses In t he context of Europea European n you th work , needs needs wil l prob ably cover all all th ese ese as aspects pects but wit h less emph asis asis on academi academi c pu rposes. rposes. We would guess that many qualified language teachers started their careers as non-experts. Finding themselves abroad and being asked to teach someone their l anguage anguage they ju st di d it – and enjoyed enjoyed it ! Sometim es sim ply wh il e on holiday, in the bar, at the disco – anysay where! They would be asked ’How do you say this in your lan guage?’ guage?’ ’Te ’Tell m e what your nam e i s i n … ..?’ ’What does thi s expr ession mean ?’ etc. Some of the best teaching and learning has taken place in such non -form al contexts. Anoth er level level of non-formal learni learni ng contexts is where yout h wor kers need need to prepare prepare themselves selves or oth ers for int ernati ernati onal work, or when they have to go into a situation where they need need anoth er language to parti cipate in l ocal ocal youth projects projects.. Mor eover, eover, th ere wil l always be many many l earni earni ng contexts wh ere trained teachers teachers are are not avail avail able, and teaching teaching and learning wi ll be carried carried out m uch m ore natu natu ralistically. We woul d sugsugges gest t hat m ost ost people would manage to teach teach their native language to a willing and motivated learner. learner. The purpose of th is T-Kit T-Kit is to give such non-teachers both t he tools and the confidence to maximise the situation. Here we wou ld l ik e to des describ e the example example of a new tr i-lateral programme in volvi ng Swede SwedennItaly-U K. The programme programme is called called Work Away (in t he UK ) and and Breakin g Barri Barri ers in Sweden Sweden and It aly. The project m anage anagers rs in th e UK are th e Pri Pri nce’s nce’s Trust, a chari chari table or gani gani sation set set up in 1976 by Prince Charles to help young people wh o have not had th e usual usual pathw ays to follow in life or who have screwed up in one way or another (crim e, dru gs, gs, disas disastrou s

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1 Methodology in language learning T-Kit

relationships etc). The Scheme is targeted at exclu ded from 18-24 year old s ’at ri sk of being exclu long-term employment’ . The project identifi es such such you ng people locally, provides work experience pre-departure, a pre-departure train in g week week (usually r esidenti esidenti al); on-arri val training for two weeks; job placements in th ose ose countri es before before retur retur nin g home wit h enhanced employment possibilities. An interesting project in its pilot year (1999/2000) and run nin g as as a demon demon strati on proj ect. ect. Edward s Language Language School i s th e train in g partner in Britain and provides both pre-departu pre-departu re training for outgoing UK young people and on-arriv on-arriv al t raining for in coming people people from Sweden and It aly.

An essential ingredient, when using non-qualified inf ormant s, however, however, is th e backgroun backgroun d preparation of a professional professional and experi enced teacher, who prepares worksheets, provides frameworks and suggestions of functional tasks and is there in the background to moni tor t he learni learni ng process process. This publication is intended to be the background teacher for the many native speaker in formants or facilit facilit ators who fi nd t hemselves hemselves called upon to teach their own language in non- formal con texts. Secti ecti on 1.2 on “t he rol es of learners and facilitators” gives more information for furt her reflection. reflection.

During the pre-departure training, there are activities to raise awareness of the reality of liv ing and workin g abroad, abroad, int ercul ercul tu ral awareawareness workshops, and language input.

1.1 Language Language learning and language teaching hing

For the language input, native speaker informants in their mid to late 20s were chosen precisely precisely because because they were w ere not train t rained ed teachers. teachers. These informants were were briefe briefed d about t heir role by a quali fi ed and and experienced language teacher. teacher. They were were provided provided with frameworks for f our in put sess ession s, broadly covering t he “Waystage level” * of language. language. They They h ad tim etabled etabled in put sessions essions but everyth in g was negoti able. It was observed that the learners themselves chose to m ake these these ses sess sion s qui te scho scho ol- li ke, even even thou gh th ey took pl ace in rooms which were not class classroom s. Each ach was offered offered a l earn earn er fi le and most most of th em used used them dili gently gently and in th e manner of real real student s. They as asked for, and were provi ded wi th , the language language th ey felt felt th ey needed. needed. Punctu ality and atten dance were excellent.

A background background to mode modern rn languag l anguage learning learning The roots of modern language teaching and learni learni ng grew and and developed in th e twentieth century. The century saw travel by land, sea and air become ever mor e acces accessible sible to t o greater nu mbers of of people, people, ini tially ti ally in Europe ur ope and North America but eventually on a global level encompassing all continents. No longer was foreign travel the domain of pi ous pilgrim s and mi ssion aries, aries, intr epid explorers and and con querors, and the rich and leisured who travelled with an entourage of servants. Increasingly, foreign travel became accessible to the majority in the developed world. Alongside this, the discovery covery of electricity electricity and the birt h of th e age age of wire-less communication enabled peoples to have contact with each other, wherever they lived or worked.

As the course was was res residenti al, the in form ants spent social time with participants and so input and learnin learnin g continued at all tim es.

In previous centuries only the classical languages of Latin and Greek had been studied as foreign languages languages by th e minor ity who had access to formal education. Later, French, which had b een een t he l anguage of th e upper classes classes in , for example, Russia and England, was included. Nati ve spea speaker ker nann ies and teachers teachers were employed employed to tut or children in th eir own own hom e.

Although the pre-departure training took place over only five or six days, with many other issues to be addressed apart from language, we felt it was an excellent example of how learning takes place in a non-formal context. Learners’ needs and interests were paramount; teachers were not authority figures; and fear, wh ich i s th e most most negati negati ve emot emot ion for a lanlanguage classroom, classroom, was totall y absent absent .

In the 20th Century, Europe was the arena for two world wars. In addition, and maybe as a resul resul t, oth er sociological sociological phenomena ph enomena took pl ace. ace. Women became mor e equal equal ci ti zens, zens, claimi ng

Waystage level (‘Threshold level’ Vantage level) corresponds to a scaling of communication skills in a target foreign language set set u p by t he Modern Language Project Project fr om t he Council of Europe. The The waystage level corresponds corresponds to th e basic basic communication skill s.

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th eir right to education and suffrage; th e need for peacefu l co-habit ation i nstead of barbaric territ orial batt les became paramou nt. By t he end of the century most countries in Europe had developed democratic systems of governm ent. Provi sion of u ni versal basic edu cation b ecame a reality. Working conditions were improved alongside social benefi ts for t he poor, sick and un derpriv il eged. By t he second h alf of t he century, widespread tr avel for work and leisure became the norm. With greater life expectancy, even people in the third-age were able to travel in a way that h ad been denied them i n th eir youth. In th e wake of th ese sociological, polit ical and economic changes, education poli cies developed to include modern languages in state school curr icul a. The transit ion of language teaching and learning from cl assic, dead languages (which had been studied as a means to enter higher education and the professions) to modern vivant languages is set out in th e overvi ew below. Grammar translation method In Europe, th e 16th century saw the found ation of gramm ar schools, where pupil s were given a rigorou s int rodu ction to Latin grammar rul es, stu dy of declensions and conju gati ons, translation and practice in writ ing m odel sentences, mainly by using parallel bili ngual texts and di alogu e. After a grasp of th e basics of the language pupi ls went on to study advanced gramm ar and rhetoric. This discipline was seen as the necessary mental gymn astics to equi p pupil s wit h the mental agili ty for all forms of higher education. No wonder, then, that when modern languages ent ered th e curri culu m of Eur opean schools from the 18th Century onwards they followed the same method of teaching and learning.

This grammar-translation approach to modern language teaching remained t he only one in use well into the 20th century and is still prevalent in modifi ed forms in m any contexts around the world. This approach works well enough when th e purpose of knowledge of th e language is to have access to literary texts, whi ch need to be discussed only in m other tongu e. However, in th e main, wh at worked for th e stu dy of a dead l anguage, where no or al interaction was needed, imposed severe limitations for modern language learning. Pupils acquired a knowledge of the syntax and rhetoric of t he target language and u nti l t he

20th centu ry w ere hardly ever called u pon to actu ally u se it for spoken in teracti on. The focus of learning was on reading and writing, with litt le or no attention given to listening and speaking. Critics of this method believe that learners fi nish up kn owing about th e language rather than knowing the language itself; in other words, the old argum ent about th eory and practice. The direct method This method evolved around the end of the 19th and beginning of t he 20th centu ries and followed on from the ideas of the Reform M ovement l ed by French and German l ingu ists in th e mid 1800s. The approach also became known as the Natural M ethod and its principles were to use only the target language, to speak slowly and clearly to learners, to see learni ng as th e four ski ll s of listening, speaking, reading and writing; language should be heard fi rst and seen later; grammar r ul es were given only after practice of them; translation shou ld be avoided.

This method is still widely used today, most notably by t he worldw ide Berlitz Schools. Cri ti cs of the method say th at it is too limi tin g, borin g for teachers and learners, and can only work well for those whose learning style exactly matches th is approach. It also leaves littl e space for meaningful exchanges, or going off at a tangent, whi ch happens all th e time in natural language interaction. The situational approach This method contains elements of the Direct Meth od and evolved from i t. Language is taught in situations at the stati on, in the restaur ant and so on. New language is drilled orally in sentence patterns. Vocabulary needed for the situation is taught and tested. Most modern language textbook s for secondary schools stil l contain elements of t hi s approach. It uses the tried and tested PPP methodology (Presentati on, Practice, Produ ction). The teacher presents new language, learners try it out in cont roll ed practice, such as mechanical drills, followed by so-called free production, when learners produce th eir own sentences using t he mod el initially presented. This will be the approach and methodology most recognised by teachers and learners of modern languages. The audio lingual method This method was developed for military purposes by t he USA du ri ng World War II. It consists

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of listening to dialogues on tape and respondi ng accordin gly. The aim was to enable espio nage personnel t o assimi late spoken l anguage and be able to infiltrate enemy offices and pass th emselves off as nati ve speakers. Nati ve speaker i nform ants were also used t o provi de models of the language and linguist coaches advised individuals on how to learn and assimi late. The method work ed for the lingui stically able and motivated who went on to become top spies and infi lt rators. It m igh t be said th at if you r li fe were in danger, you t oo could very quickly become fluent in Russian, French or even Martian! This method spawned the use of language laboratories where learners sit with headphon es and ‘li sten and r epeat to th eir h earts’ content – often just waiting for the bell to soun d th e end of th e lesson! The communicative approach This approach arose out of the needs within th e member count ries of th e Coun cil of Europe to fi nd an approach to teaching and learning the major European languages, so that adult learners could take advantage of th e many opportun iti es open to th em in th e new European Union and Council of Eur ope count ries. As th e name suggests, this approach emphasised learnin g language for mainly spoken communication.

Using the approaches which preceded it, commun icative language teachin g (CLT) encouraged oral competence with out t oo much attention to th e teaching of structures (grammar rules) and vocabulary. It was felt that these wou ld be impl icit and learnt by osmosis, mu ch in the way that children learn their mother tongue. Naom Chomsky’s belief that he had discovered an area of the brain containing a Language Acquisition Device (LAD) and his theories on a Universal Grammar gave rise to a confi dence th at everyone wh o wanted to learn another langu age would d o so. Included in thi s broad and somewhat difficu lt to defi ne approach is Wilk ins’ Noti onal Syllabus which was used to develop the European Framework for modern language learning, whi ch now defines six di stinct l evels from t he surv iv al Waystage level u pward s. Foreign l anguage learning in Europe was quite carried away by CLT for mu ch of th e 1970s and 80s. It was seen as being the way to learn French without tears . Commu nicative com petence was the aim of t he method – it did not encompass

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academic rigour and examination success. The classroom w as to be a rehearsal r oom for reallife oral interactions and CLT undoubtedly un derpinn ed some very creativ e teaching m aterials and classroom pr actices. However, it was not th e answer t o all l anguage learni ng pr oblems. Many t eachers and learners felt uncomfortable at the lack of any formal, structured, step-by-step, bricklaying elements to CLT. As with the Direct Method, CLT suited only those learners whose learning style matched th is approach. Total physical response (TPR) Thi s approach was developed by James Asher in California. The method uses imperatives and requi res learners to be listeners and perform ers. Asher based his approach on the observation of chi ld language learni ng, where he saw adults using imperatives to you ng child ren, wh o them reacted to them. Critics might say that it is li ke tr ainin g a dog! The teacher gives a command e.g. ‘Stan d u p !’ ‘Walk to the door !’ ‘Give the book to John !’ etc and learners obey! The Silent Way This is another humanistic approach developed by Gatt egno i n New York i n t he 1970s. Like TRP it claims to be non-t hr eatenin g and stress-free and enables basic learners to feel confi dence from t he beginni ng. Learners sim ply listen to the native speakers conversing and only speak when they feel ready and moved to do so. The US Peace Corps, which provided native-speaker volunteers to give language in stru ction , mainly i n Eastern Europe and Sou th East A sia, fr om th e 1970s onw ards, used this approach extensively, but little is docum ented about th eir experiences. Task-Based Learning Thi s approach put s the task to b e completed at the centre of the language learning session. Learners are given problems to solve, using the target language, and tasks to complete, individ ually and collaborativ ely. The teacher suppli es wh atever language is needed to facili tate the successful outcome of the task. Learners need to actively seek the language and practi se th e ski lls th ey need t o achi eve a successfu l outcome. This approach pre-supposes confident , adventu rous language learners, wil lin g to take risks with language and to take responsibil ity for their own learning. It is intended to be far removed from traditional teacher-centred approaches, wh ere control (supposedly ) resides


with the teacher for all facets of the learning process. Learner in dependence is encou raged and successful task achievement the only reward. Topic-Driven approaches With this approach, the topic is paramount. Learners select (or t he t eacher of fers) a range of topi cs wh ich are of int erest and relevant to th em. The language around th is topic is provided by th e teacher. This would in clud e stru ctur es and lexis, consideration of style and register as appropriate. The essence of topicdriven approaches is that they contextualise language. In additi on, if l earn ers have a cho ice of topi cs, learni ng is more moti vated. Intercultural Language Learning (ICLL) This approach believes that language learni ng and intercult ural learnin g are integral parts of a whol e. It i s im possibl e to learn a langu age thoroughly without being aware of intercultural issues. Conversely, it is impossible to be aware of intercultural issues without being aware of the intrinsic linguistic elements at play. These ideas are supported by the chicken and egg arguments about concepts and language. Does a concept produce the language or does language spur the concept? It is undoubtedly true that although all humans come with th e innate power of language, concepts are by no m eans un iv ersal. So we can never assum e that wh at I m ean by a word th at I use will match what you mean by a word when you use it !

Intercultural language learning explores language interculturally. The approach involves exploration of cu lt ur al concepts, stereotypes, generalisations, assumptions and the murky depths beneath sur face language. It inv olves confrontation, and the aim is to clear the air interculturally so that we can truly live tolerant ly, contentedly, and constructi vely in a‘vive la d i fference’ Europe! This T-Kit concentrates on the latter three approaches, as they are the most appropriate for non -form al contexts. However, as wit h all approaches to teaching and learning, these have grown organically from those that have gone before. The emphasis is on the learner and learning, rather than the teacher and teachin g. Thu s, we are able to go forw ard in to the 21st century using the skills and knowledge of past centuries, choosing eclectically th e approaches most suit able for our ti me and place.

1.2 Roles of learners and facilitators This section wil l consider th e roles of t eachers and learners and how each side of the teaching/learning equation may need to examine and re-evaluate their roles and behaviour in order t o maximi se learning opportuni ties. This is particularly relevant in the context of non-formal education. Dur ing th e Seminar on ICL in Language Learning held in Strasbourg in November 1998 thi s subject was examined and four broad classroom cultures were defined. These were the ul tra-didactic, didactic, learner-centr ed, ultr ain form al. Pages 47-49 in th e Report [C EJ/TC ICLL (98) 2] of the Workshop summarise the activities and the chart below describes the main f eatu res of fou r classroom cult ur es.

Classroom 1: Ultra-didactic Forma l classroo m layout ; auth oritarian tea cher, strict hierarchical system, no opportunity for learner initiatives; learners as empty-vessels; tea cher as source of a ll know ledge ; passive learnersessential ; all pow er resides with the tea cher.

Classroom 2: Didactic Tea cher-centred classroom layo ut ; tea cher in cont rol ; lip-service only to lea rner participa tion ; fa irly rigid hierarchical system ; cont rol lies w ith the t eacher ; passive lea rners preferred.

Classroom 3: Learner-centred Task-ba sed learning ; classroo m layout fl exible – tea cher to set up classroom a ccording t o t he ta sk in hand ; learners encouraged t o w ork coll a b o r a t i v e ly ; l ea r n e r s e n c o u ra g e d t o fi n d o u t for themselves fi rst a nd use the tea cher as a fi na l arb iter ; varied activities to suit a ll learning styles; active learners preferred ; relaxed hierarchical system.

Classroom 4: Ultra-informal Haphazard approach ; anything go es; teacher as fellow -sufferer in life ; lea rners usually dicta te classroo m practice ; tea cher needs studen ts to b o o s t o w n m o r a l e ; a f f e c t e d f r ie n d s h ip s ; n o hierarchical systems; anarchy rules – OK?!

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The classroom cu lt ur e that is requi red for th e context of non-f ormal education necessit ates a collaborative approach to teachi ng and learning. The teacher has the role of facilitator – helping and encouraging learning to h appen. He/she will not feel that learning can only happen as and wh en specifi c items are taught . Learners, too, must acknowledge that theirs is the more active role; they have to do the learni ng! They need to be aware of their own

learning style and be willing to adapt and expand th eir l earni ng strategies. There are as many teaching styles as there are teachers and likewise as many learning sty les as there are learners! The most i mpor tant resour ce that t eachers and learners bri ng in to th e language learni ng environ ment i s th emselves. From now onwards we shall refer to facilitators and learners as this best describes their roles in ou r context.

Roles of facilitat ors and learners mig ht b e considered as follow s:

The Facilitator’s Role

The Learner’s Role

• To ra ise a w a reness of d ifferent lea rning

• To be come a w a re of learning styles an d

styles

• To supply accura te a nd a ppropriate m od els of the langua ge as needed for the activities a nd t a sks in ha nd

be w illing t o try new lea rning strate gies

• To b e a n adventurous l earne r, w illing to ta ke risks, be a go od guesser , a n d t a k e every oppo rtunity to learn, using the fa cilitator an d a ll ot her sources availab le.

• To en courag e learners to ad opt ad vent u r o u s le a r n in g st r a t e g ie s

• To w ork both independent ly and col• To h e l p cr e a t e a g o o d l e a r n in g e n v i-

la b o r a t i ve ly t o a c h ie v e g o o d la n g u a g e a n d t a s k o u t co m e s

r o n m e n t , w it h o u t f e a r o r in h ib i t io n

• To mo nitor their ow n a nd oth ers’ lan• To mo nitor learners’ use o f t he lang ua ge an d correct errors w hen a ppropriat e

• To be po sitive and en courag ing a bo ut out comes an d see all outcomes as successes

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g u a g e p r o g r e ss a n d b e co m e a w a r e o f common errors

• To keep records of learning a nd review t h e m co n st a n t l y

• To see lea rning a s a colla bo rat ive process

• To a cknow ledge their active role a s

with constant negotiation between f a c ilit a t o r s a n d le a r n e r s t o d e fi n e a i m s a n d w o r kin g m e t h o d s

le a r n e r a n d b e w illin g t o n e g o t i a t e aims and working methods with the facilitator


From this we can perhaps draw up a list of ‘d os ’ and ‘don’ts ’ for facilitators and learners in non-formal contexts. We have indicated who

DO: • Acknow ledge your role in t he learning a dvent ure (L &F)

• See your role as expedition guide and leader or the person w h o h a s t h e language map (F)

• Be w illing to experiment w ith new learning strat eg ies (L &F)

• Work as a t ea m, using ea ch person’s strengths and helping the m w ith th eir we a knesses (L &F)

• Encourag e your leader to g ive of the ir best (L)

• Recognise t hat everyone lea rns differen tly at diffe rent ra te s (L &F)

• Be patient a nd let learning ha ppen ! (L &F)

• Enjoy the a dvent ure ! (L &F)

1.3 What are learning styles? Learning styles are partly innate and partly learnt . We are all born w it h abil it ies and aptitu des and t hen w e are exposed to edu cati on in all its forms, at home, in society, in formal education and in non-formal education. The biggest in fl uences wil l probably be hom e and formal education. In the family we are patterned into the childhood role assigned to us – ‘eld est’ ‘youn gest’ ‘only’ ‘late’ ‘dif ficult’ ‘wi lfu l’ ‘beau ti fu l’ ‘ugly’ ‘spor ti ng’ ‘gi fted’ ‘lazy’ and so on. In school we imbi be the learni ng norm s of our cultural context. We will learn to respect, obey, fear, hate, question or rebel against authorit y. Aut hority comes in t he form of t eachers and School hierarchies. During these formative years we will learn to be more or less competitive; to think in terms of success and failure; to experience fear in the classroom; to kn ow wh at we can and can’t do; to accept our limitations; to try to reach our potential; to enjoy or hate tests and exams (depending on our ability to do well or badly in them!) to learn h ow to cheat the system; to avoid doin g thi ngs we dislike or fi nd di fficult ; to shin e and

we thi nk th ese do’s and don’ts are for, using L for th e Learner; F for the Facilitator. Most of t he ti me th ey apply to both sides of th e learning equation.

DON’T: • Put previous negative learning experiences in you r rucksack w hen yo u pack fo r this journey ! (L)

• Think ‘t ea chers’ a nd ‘lea rners’ (L &F)

• Blame t he fa cilita tor if you don’t lea rn ! (L)

• Blame yo urself if you get it w rong ! (L &F)

• Be competitive abo ut a chieveme nt s (L &F)

• Fee l supe rior or infe rior ! (L &F) • Pan ic a nd g ive up ! (L &F)

be a star; to work wit h or against our peers – this is th e process of form al education. The root s of the word education seem so often to be forgotten. They are the Latin ex and ducare which means to lead ou t – not to cram in! When we finish with this stage of life, as we reach offi cial adu lt hood, we can take cont rol of what and how we learn. Non-formal learning contexts provide us with opportun iti es for li felon g l earn in g. Long ago, Freire (Th e Pedagogy of the Oppressed – 1972) spoke about d e- schooling . His seminal work still has value. A mor e recent seri es of essays on t hese th emes can be foun d i n Power, Pedagogy and Practice (ed. Hodge and Wh it ing, 1996). But th e message is optim istic – we can empower our selves as learners, take responsibility and stop blami ng oth er people, systems and circum stances for ou r lacks. The graphic below shows the Learning Style Spectrum wit h an explanati on of styles. We can reflect on w here we fit along that line at the mom ent and kn ow th at the best l earner is one wh o converges towards the midd le, combi ni ng abili ties to learn studi ally wit h abili ties to learn experientially, and t he fl exibili ty to adapt style to situ ation.

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The Learning Style Spectrum Experiental

Experiential language learners learn best when they can learn by doing ;

Studial language learners learn best when they are presented w ith lan-

can ask questions and get quick a n s w e r s ; a r e n o t re q u ire d t o d i splay their knowledge in tests and e xa m s ; d o n o t h a v e t o r e co r d t h e i r learning ; can t ake risks an d g o a t their ow n pace ; are not expected t o learn grammar rules or read and w r it e t h e la n g u a g e t o o m uch ; ca n practise speaking the language as much as possible ; are no t t oo w orried about their mistakes and achieve their aims of fl uency.

g u a g e i n w r i t t e n f o r m ; a r e g iv e n rules for everything ; ca n w rite e verything dow n to record their learning ; a r e g i ve n r e g u l a r t e s t s t o c o n f i rm t h e ir p ro g re ss ; d o n o t n e ed t o sp e a k t h e la n g u a g e i n u n r e h e a r se d sit u a t i o ns ; a r e re q u ir e d t o re a d t h e la n g u a g e a n d w r it e a n s w e rs t o q u e s t io n s a b o u t t h e t e xt ; a re co n sta ntly corrected a nd achieve their a ims of a ccuracy.

Obviou sly, those are th e two extr emes and th e best learner, of languages or anything else, is th e one who can experim ent wit h styles from both ends of the spectrum and reach a style somewhere in the middle to maximise their learning.

1.4 Errors!

create our own approach to errors and corr ections. (See also Bartram & Walton 1991) for fu rth er comm onsense procedu res. Error s will always occur i n l anguage learni ng. Learning is done by trial and error. You try somethin g, if it achieves th e outcome you n eed, it is considered correct and i f it doesn’t, it’s obvi ously incorrect! If you ask for a newspaper when you need a ticket, you will get a newspaper. You wil l t hen r eali se your mi stake and try to remedy it. If you are lucky, th ere will be someone around who can tell you that the word you need is ticket. In the process you wil l also have learnt h ow to b uy a newspaper!

Most learning situations (that is, any context with teachers and learners) include a clear concept of errors and error-correction. At it s most extreme errors can be seen as crimes and error correction as punishment !

This tr ial and error approach, being adventu rou s, not being afraid to take ri sks and appear stu pid are essential in gredients for l anguage learning in a non-formal context. The role of the learner is to behave as above; to learn from mistakes made; to share this learning with others; to m onitor their own and oth ers’ mistakes; and t o enjoy th e adventu re.

Teachers are trained to mon it or l earni ng and apply correction al p rocedures. Teachers k now, learners don’t so th ey make mi stakes and have to be corrected! Error correction in language learning has a long history of debate with clearly defin ed and ju sti fi ed pedagogical r easons for one methodology or another. However, for th e purposes of th is publ ication, let’s

The role of a facilitator in error correction is to observe mistakes being made and to correct th em at t he appropriate time and i n t he appropriate way. That’s the tricky bit! If the aim of learning is to achieve communication, error correction must keep a low profile and only be seen by bot h sides as a means to negoti ate meaning.

A ccuracy an d fl u en cy in spoken language

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Studial


Look at t he follow ing dialogue and t hen refl ect o n t he ‘ err o r- correction’ L = learner an d F = facilitato r.

L. ‘One pa per plea se.’ F. ‘One piece of pa per ?’ (O f f e r i n g a sh e e t o f p a p e r t o w r i t e o n . ) L. ‘No, o ne pa per for Lond on.’ F. ‘Th e Tim e s ?’ (O f f e r i n g t h e n e w s- paper. ) L. ‘No, no, no.. One pa per go Lond on.’ F. ‘Oh ! You nee d a n ap plicat ion form to a pply for a visa t o go to London !’ L. ‘Yes, tha nk you ! ’

The facili tator h elped th e learner to n egotiate a successful outcome. The learner took risks, carried on until he/she achieved the successful outcome he/she had in mind. Errors occurred on both sides and were dealt with implicitly . In a learning context, it would probably be beneficial to deal w ith th e learner’s specific errors explicitly at a separate ti me. Thi s can be done by rehearsing conversations in the form of contextualised role-plays so that the learner pre-plans and pre-learns language necessary for the exchange. This is pre-emptive error correction or avoidance. If we reflect on ou r language learnin g experiences, error corr ecti ng by teachers has usually occurred duri ng tests which usually reveal h ow much w e haven’t learnt during lessons, which ju st show s us how sil ly we are. In non-formal contexts learners are encouraged to mon itor and self-correct or peer-correct wh enever t hey can. The best learni ng t akes place wh en th e learner i s aware that t he error has been made.

When asked, most language learners put cor- rectin g my mi stakes as one of the most important attri but es for a good teacher. However, if we followed this through, we would do little else in li fe! In any case, wh en the main aim of u sin g language is for spoken com mu ni cati on, constant in terru pti ons to correct errors, great and small, wil l simply create a barrier to commu nication, rath er th an facili tate it . Statesmen and spokespeople representing various int ernational organisati ons are often int erviewed i n English on radio and television. I am always full of admiration for the fluency with which most of them manage to communicate their messages. If I w anted to be pedantic, I coul d fi nd errors in almost every u tt erance, either errors of pronunciation, stress or usage. However, the only errors that would need to be dealt with would be those which create a barrier to commu nication – which are usually very few. Communication of ideas and information is also a two-sided affair. If you do not want to understand, you won’t and if you do, you will! The English saying ‘there’s no n e so d eaf as he who doesn’t w ish to hear’ encapsulates this phenomenon . (Do you have such a saying i n your language?) The facilitator in our non-formal contexts should always correct sensitively, clarifying meaning and providing correct forms only as necessary; monitoring and noting common errors and dealing with them in a group at a later stage; mon it orin g and not in g errors specific to an ind ividu al and enlisting the help of the group in assisting that learner to use the correct forms; fluency will always be paramount but accuracy must not be neglected.

The im po rt ance of accuracy i n w r i t t e n l an g u a g e Error correction for written English is different. Writi ng is a hi gher form of l anguage and a more advanced, academi cally l earn t ski ll . All hu man bein gs use spoken form s of language but globally, only a minority achieve literacy, that is the skills to read and write. Writing requires higher levels of accuracy. It is necessary to think of purpose and audience when wr it in g. Reasons for w rit in g are, broadly speaking, for

• Work • Study • Pleasure

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Those who write for pleasure are authors, dramatistsand poets, although sometimes this overlaps with work! Work and study purposes are the main reasons for writing. Writing tasks around work incl ud e fil li ng in form s, applyin g for jobs, wri tten communications in th e form of letters, mem os, reports, proposals and, increasingly, all of t hese in e-mail for mat. Writ ing t asks for study include form filling, note taking, summary w rit in g, essay wri ti ng and di ssertations. The main dif ference between wri tt en and spoken commun ication is that the former requires

a much h igher degree of accur acy to b e trul y effective. Spoken language is ephemeral and, un less it i s recorded and analysed, mi stakes in spoken langu age pass unnot iced mu ch of t he time. Written language is a permanent form and there in black and white for everyone to see. You cannot retract the written word, or deny having said it or use any of the other disclaimers wh ich we rely on wh en we sim ply speak. When comm uni cation is spoken th ere is always the possibility that the hearer got it wrong, or simply mi sun derstood, and nobody can do anythin g about i t. That is why, for legal pur poses, you are asked to ‘put it in wri ti ng’!

Som e cont rasting features of spoken a n d w r i t t e n l an g u a g e a re sh o w n b e l ow :

Spoken language

• Spontaneous and unrehearsed (unless a pre-plann ed speech or lecture, w hich is usually rea ding a w ritt en fo rm o f la n g u a g e )

• Ephem era l (unless recorded ! ) • Full of false starts and uncompleted senten ces, ha lf-said a llusion s etc so no need to think and spea k synta ctically

• No problems with spelling an d ha ndw r it in g !

Written language

• Plan ned a nd a ble to be revised before use • A perma nent record (unless destroyed ! ) • Needs aw are ness of style, register an d r h e t o r ic a l p a t t e r n s o f w r it t e n co m m u nication

• Can encou nte r problems of spelling • Has the a dd ed d imension of leg ibility if handwritten

• M e a n i n g c o n ve y e d w i t h v o ic e q u a l it y (pitch, intona tion, volume etc)

• If fa ce-to-fa ce, has ad vanta ges of bo dy langua ge, eye-conta ct and ot her paralinguistic feat ures to a id communication (this is w hy telepho ne conversa tions are usually mo re diffi cult)

• Needs no specia l mat erials • Betrays emotions

• Re q u ir e s k n o w l e d g e o f s yn t a x a n d i t s accurate use

• Needs more time and effort to produce • Needs w riting ma terials (pen, pa per or computer and printer)

• Can only be effective in a context of literacy

• Needs to be a w are of pronunciat ion a nd prosodic fea tures of spoken lang uag e

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• Can mask emotions


A corollary to this table would be to say that fl uency is more important in spoken language and accuracy is paramount in written language, therefore more error-correction is necessary for written language. But in non-formal contexts we certainly do not want th e ‘red-pen approach’ to correcting written forms of the language. Formal w rit ten comm un ications are generally qui te formu laic. Thi s means th at model examples can b e adapted for specifi c use. Form fi lli ng is usually standard; lett er-writi ng has certai n conventions – form s of address, set ph rases, closin g sentences and salu tati ons and so on – and can be learnt as a set of possible sent ences. Report writing can also follow a formulaic stru ctur e using headings to di vid e it int o secti ons. Minu tes of a meetin g are very formu laic in Engli sh and can be learnt th is way. The facili tator’s role shou ld be to produce model exampl es of t hese standard wri tt en commun ication s and th en assist l earn ers to personalise th em for t heir specifi c needs. The planning stage is th e most i mport ant wh en writing. At this stage, the facilitator will help wri ters fi nd t he language for th eir ideas; help wit h put tin g ideas int o logical order; help wit h suggestions for overall form, e.g. – introducti on, main ideas, sum mary/conclusion/ recommendations – check spelli ng or encourage use of dict ionaries if available. The facilitator needs to be around to answer queries dur in g the drafti ng stage too in order to produce immediate assistance.

Then fin ally, the facilitator wi ll check th e first draft, make suggesti ons for im provement and ensur e th at th e fi nal form is accurate, succi nct and ready for the reader. A good way to deal with wr iti ng is to bui ld up a bank of commonly needed writt en commu ni cati on s to use as models. This task wi ll belong to th e facilitator, who should rely on th eir own native speaker skills to produce simple and accurate pieces of writing. In time, these examples of good practice will become a usefu l resource for th e learni ng context concerned and can be added to by subsequent learners and facilitators. Inform al types of writ ing do not u sually cause prob lems. These in clu de lett ers and postcards to f riends and so on. Here, the rul es of form al writing simply do not apply as they are just wr i te-as-you speak communications. The recipient or reader will forgive you all transgressions, which makes them more manageable and pleasur able for the wri ter to prod uce! We would add a note about e-mail commu nication. This form of written communication seems to be li berati ng us from th e conventi ons of writing inasmuch as it tolerates inaccuracies. In its electronic wisdom it allows even quite formal communications to be delivered in informal style, without causing offence. This can only be a good thing and should encourage people to wr it e more fr eely. However, it wou ld be a pity t o lose the richn ess of traditional written forms, which are able to in fl uence, persuade and in spire t he reader.

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2. Task-Based Learning (TBL) Methodology in language learning T-Kit

2.1 Introduction and clarification of terms This section provides the theoretical background to Task-Based Language Learning (TBLL); a framework for TBLL with explanati ons; factors to consider when impl ementin g task-based language learning; and finally, a concrete example of a task. It shows how adapted versions of task-based approaches to language learning are well suit ed to th e non-formal context of learnin g in the framework of European language programmes. This method relies heavily on learners’ involvement and t heir worl d k nowledge. It places emphasis on the value of the information and experiences which participants bring to the language learning sessions. As parti cipants share th eir k nowl edge, experience and opinions, they will also be using their existing language, be exposed to new language and develop a variety of strategies for improving their language skills. TBLL also allows the facili tator t o u se aut hent ic topic material, whi ch is relevant t o th e parti cipants’ needs and encou rages th e developm ent of skills necessary for the successful completi on of real-l ife tasks.

Clarificatio n of t erms Linguistic j argon is notoriou s for it s ambigui ty. Different terms mean different things to different people. So for clarifi cati on, some of th e key terms used in this publication are listed below, together with an explanation.

• Activity Doing something which can be •

•

•

seen as a step t owards achievi ng t h e task; one part of the process; work in progress. Collaborative learning Working together and supporting each other to maximise learning and task outcomes. It is the opposite of competiti ve learning wh ere each learner is tryi ng to be better th an his companions. Language facilitator The person wh o has a native speaker competence in the language being learnt and can provi de all th e necessary linguistic input to facilitate the acti vi ti es and t ask achi evement. Learner–centred Describes an approach t o classroom methodology which puts learners’ needs and interests at th e cent re of the learning programme.

• Learningstyles/strategies A range of ways

• • •

of studying and learning, along the spectrum from experiential to studial. (See Section 1.2 Roles of learners and facilitators). Materials Anyth ing wh ich is used to form the basis of a language learning activity or task. Task The end prod uct to a planned process; a completed piece of wor k Topic Any subject which provides contextu alised l anguage learni ng.

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2.2 Task-Based Language Learning (TBLL) 2.2.1 Backg roun d t o Task- Based Langu age Learnin g Language acquisition and learning: How is it done? There is no definitive model for learning a language or in deed for t he acqui sit ion of language by ch il dren. Research has suggested t hat human beings are born with a device which enables them to organise the language they are exposed to (their m oth er tongu e) and form rules which can be used to generate more language and be applied in different situations (LAD: language acquisition device and Universal Grammar, Chomsky 1965). Yet there is also research t o show t hat even without th e stimuli of exposure to a language, deaf children develop language which displays similar features of a formal language structure (Goldin-Meadow 1990). This has also been shown t hrou gh th e stu dy of Pidgin languages – languages that are formed by people who have no common mother tongue but who need t o comm un icate amon g th emselves and so form another language. The first intrepid explorers and international traders relied on pidgin commu ni cati on. When pidgins are used as a native language by th e next generati on, th ey develop in to a Creole language (Bickerton 1984) and a new language is formed by people who were exposed to a language which

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did n ot di splay a ful l range of stru ctu res. Thi s is kn own as povert y of stim ulu s (Gleason and Ratner 1998). Some theories also relate the cognitive development of children to their language acqui siti on. This is anoth er major di fference between mother-tongue acquisition and learnin g a second language which is usually undertaken after childh ood cognitiv e development is compl ete. (Bates 1979, Piaget 1926).

2

This is a very cursory dip into this area to demonstratet hat noth ing is fin ite in language learning or acquisition theory. Also, it must be remembered that we are attempting to develop ideas for language learning not language acqui sit ion. It i s th erefore impor tant t o bear i n m ind th e difference between language acqui sit ion of m oth er tongue and second language learning later in life. As mentioned in Section 1.1 Language learning and language teachin g, there have also been many th eories of langu age learni ng, whi ch h ave been refl ected in approaches and methodol ogies in l anguage teachi ng.

Learner-centred approaches Learner-centred approaches draw knowledge from the learner, worki ng th rough t heir needs and interests and selecting materials, activiti es and t asks accordi ngly. At all stages, negotiation between facilitators and learners is encouraged. Learning is seen as a collaborative enterprise. Any approach must consider the context in w hich it i s to be used and consequently th e possibl e reaction of l earners to th e method ology. Are learners going t o accept the choice of methodology with open arms? If t he proposed methodology is unfamil iar or greeted wit h for eboding, facili tators will need to negotiate wit h l earners to ensur e that th ey are mot ivated and happy to learn in t hat way. The learners will then be stakeholders in the approach. Of prim ary concern th erefore is that facilitators take into account the learning environment th ey are working in and manage new approaches sensitively. (See Section 1.2 Roles of learners and f acil it ators.)

2.2.2 Task- Based Langu age Learnin g In Task-Based Language Learning (TBLL), learning is fostered t hrou gh performin g a series of

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activities as steps towards successful task reali sation. The focus is away from learni ng language it ems in a non -contextu alised vacuum to using language as a vehicle for authentic, real-world needs. By working towards task reali sation, th e language is used im mediately in the real-world context of the learner, maki ng learni ng auth entic. In a TBLL framework the language needed is not pre-selected and given to the learners who then practise it but rather it i s drawn fr om th e learners with h elp from the facilitator, to meet the demands of th e activ it ies and task. TBLL relies heavily on learners actively experim enti ng with their store of knowl edge and using skills of deduction and independent language analysis to exploit th e situ ation ful ly. (See Section 2.4 Concrete example of task – Preparing a meal.) In this example, the aim of the session is to work together to prepare a meal where everyone can contribute. By doing this, a great deal of language will be acti vated und er the th eme of food. As can be seen by the example, menus have to be discussed, food h as to be bough t and jobs allocated. The participants are prepared for the task, so th at th ey wil l be aware of th e language th ey need in order to carry it out successful ly. In thi s approach, motivation for commun ication becomes the primary driv ing force. It places the emphasis on communi cativ e fl uency rather than the hesitancy borne of the pressur e in more di dactic approaches to produce unflawed utterances. Exposure to the target language should be in a naturally occurring context. This means that, if materi als are used, th ey are not prepared especially for the language classroom, but are selected and adapted from authentic sources. (See Section 4 Selectin g and u sing m aterials.) The Task-Based Learning Framework shown below has been adapted from th e Willi s fr amework (1996). In the adapted framework, the focus of attenti on i s upon a fin al task. This task is defi ned as an undert aking th at is auth entic to th e needs of th e learners. In the case of European youth work programmes, these tasks will relate to the work of participants and will reflect the tasks and situations they find themselves involved in. An explanation of th is framework follows the diagram.


2.2.3 Task-Based M eth od olo gy Task-Based Methodology Framework

(Adapted fr om Wi lli s, Jane 199 6 A Framework for Task- Based Learn in g, Oxford : Longman)

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DEFINITION OF THE TASK

PRE-TASK Willis suggests that the teacher (facilitator) ‘explores th e topic w ith t he group and high lights . For f a cilita to rs wishusefu l w ord s and phr ases’ ing to exploit mat erials, it is at this sta ge tha t t he chosen ma terial w ill need t o relat e to t he ta sk. In preparing for the ta sk fulfi lment the f acilitat o r w ill n e e d t o c o n si d e r h o w t h e c h o s e n p ie c e of mat erial w ill be exploited. Exploring the topic w ith the group could be by exploitat ion of a picture (see Section 3.2), by w a tching a video clip, (see Section 4) or by looking a t a te xt (see Section 3.3). The ma terial to be e xploited can b e used for topic content as a springboard or to highlight useful w ords and phrases. It is up to the fa cilita tor to de cide how much lang uag e w ork he/she thinks w ill be nee de d b y the learners but it is necessary to remember tha t t he purpose of using a piece of ma te ria l is as a pre-ta sk lead -in.

PRE-TASK

TASK PREPARATION

TASK REALISATION

e.g.:

• ma terial exploita tion : using a picture/text etc. t o l e a d i n t o t h e t o p ic

• brainstorming : making a list ; compa ring idea s; sharing e xperiences

• activat ing lan gua ge : eliciting a nd providing

POST-TASK

vocabulary

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TASK PREPARATION

PRE-TASK

2 This ha s been sepa rat ed from th e Pre-Ta sk pha se used by Willis to highlight the importance of preparing learners thoroughly, where necessary rehearsing the ta sk in order to recycle the langua ge a nd fa miliarise lea rners w ith the context a s much as po ssible. If the previous stag e involved brainsto rming w ords connected w ith the to pic, this sta ge could involve lea rners in a d iscussion of their at titudes to it, an d preparing t heir arg uments f o r a d e b a t e , o r t h e i r id e a s f o r a l e a fl e t t o d r a w peoples’ at tent ion to t he issue

Lea rners prepare ow n input fo r ta sks

TASK PREPARATION

TASK REALISATION

e.g.

• planning a report • practising role-play • w riting a q uestionna ire to be a dministered • thinking of issues in a deba te • brainstorming n ecessary lan gua ge • a ctivat ing lang uag e : eliciting a nd providing t he necessary lang uag e

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POST-TASK


TASK REALISATION

PRE-TASK

2 Th e t w o p r e v io u s st a g e s w i ll h a v e b e e n l e a ding up to th is stag e by fully preparing learners bo th ideo logically and ling uistically for the t a sk. This part of th e t a sk cycle w ill mirror a s closely as possible an aut hentic underta king w hich pa rt i cip a n t s i n Eu r o p e a n y o u t h w o r k w i ll h a v e t o carry out. Whether the task is performed, disp la y e d , r e co r d e d , co n d u c t e d a s a g r o u p , o r carried out in small groups the focus will be on successful realisa tion o f th e ta sk.

PREPARATION

Lea rners prod uce/perf orm /presen t t heir ta sks

TASK

e .g :

TASK

REALISATION

• P ro d u c in g a p o st e r • Performing a role-play • Ha v in g a d e b a t e • P ro d u c in g a l e a f l e t

POST-TASK

• G i vi n g a p r e se n t a t i o n

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POST TASK 2

PRE-TASK

Post-Task options Language focus While t he t ask is being carried out, the fa cilita tor ma y w ish t o make notes on the lang uag e : could any vocabulary be add ed ? Were there a ny structures tha t caused misunderstand ing o r confusion ? Were there a ny phrases w hich could have b een expressed differently? Could any of the language have been used to b ett er effect e.g. ma de less ab rupt, more persuasive etc.? After the ta sk has been completed , participants may w ish to look at the mat erial ag ain to g ain a bet ter understanding of the lang ua ge : to look a t structures, diffi cult/unusual vocab ulary etc.

TASK PREPARATION

Feedback and evaluation The f acilitat or ma y w ish to conduct a fee dba ck session to discuss the success of t he t a sk an d consider sug ge stions fo r improving it. Participa nts ma y w ish to discuss such issues a s w orking t og ether, performing in a g roup, rea ctions to th e topic, am ount o f lang uag e input, thing s they enjoyed doing , things they didn’t enjoy and so on. Evaluation o f t he t ask will provide useful information f or fa cilita tors wh en planning f urther tasks.

TASK REALISATION

Reflection upon task realisation

• Wa s it useful ? • Was it enjoyable ? Language reflection, possible fu rther input

• Further exploita tion of ma terial for lang uag e • Error correctio n • Refl ection by learners Peer suggestions: ‘could you explain…?’ ‘could you r epeat…?’

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POST-TASK


2.2.4 Langu age abilit y and learning styles When asked to use ‘all the language they can muster to express themselves’ (Willis 1996), participants who are unfamiliar with this learnin g context may not feel comfor table or productiv e in th is learning environment. This is not t o say that it shou ld be rejected if th is is th e case, but th at facilit ators must be aware that they may need to allow time for adjustment, encouragement and confidence building. Some participants may feel they are being thrown in at t he deep end and may fi nd t hey are un able to swim, especially if they are working with people mu ch m ore confident th an th emselves. The psychol ogical dyn amics of th e grou p wil l have a great influence on the success of worki ng groups in thi s respect. If a hesitant participant is working with a supportive group he/she wi ll gain considerable experience even if h e/she is not ready to fu lfi l hi s/h er potenti al to th e full. As was stated in the in troducti on, (Section 1.2) th ese approaches requ ir e adventurous learners, prepared to take risks, so a spiri t of adventu re must be fostered by facil itators.

In cases wh ere the part icipant s’ langu age level does not enable them to carry out the task preparation , adaptations wil l h ave to be made wh ere mor e langu age is fed in as th e sit uati on demands. In keeping with the ethos of these approaches to language learning, however, it mu st be remembered th at the language in put should be related to the task. A functional approach to language learning would ensure th at th e learners are aware of t he context ual use of t he language and th at th ey are going to use it for real-world situations. It is essential th at materials developed on a task-based fr amework should include variations to meet the needs of beginner and lower level learners.

The TBLL approach can be adapted to suit beginner level language learners as long as facilitators are aware of learners’ needs and able to adapt. The language input during the pre-task and t ask preparation stages will have to b e sui tably adapted. At hi s level, there may be more call from the participants for stop and explain sessions with further examples of the language structures being used. The focu s, how ever, remain s the same: th e overall aim i s on the accompl ishment of a real-l ife task and real-l ife activ it ies leadin g to th is.

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2.3 Factors to consider When using TBLL approaches many dif ferent factors have to be taken into consideration and some of these are explored below.

2.3.1 Learne rs’ p ro file If you are preparing materials before your group arri ves, it is advisable to draw u p a li kely profile of the group. Even if the profile is not exact i t wi ll be a framework to start f rom. It is helpful to aim your materials at a defined grou p and fi ne tu ne later as necessary. You w il l rarely be faced with a homogeneous group even if t he participant s are of th e same nati onalit y. Although participants will all be involved in European youth work and may have similar concerns and interests, their learning background s are lik ely to h ave been very d ifferent. It i s important to be aware that there may well be as many dif ferent learni ng backgroun ds as th ere are partici pants. Each person wil l come wit h t heir own experiences, feelings and att itudes, which are likely to surface during a course. Some participant s may not be wil li ng or u sed t o di scussing i ssues. People may h ave come from a learning environment which is very di dacti c where they are not asked to provi de the information, but to absorb it. They may not be used to giving a controversial opinion or exercisin g self-expression in a mi xed grou p. An appropriate course of action will need to be negoti ated if a task specifi cally requir ing a cert ain m ethod is to succeed. Partici pants may not w ant to practise their language wit h ot her participants, having been used t o givi ng answers only to a teacher. Some learners may expect

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the facilitator to provide all the answers and may be unused to i nteracting wit h ot her parti cipants dur in g language lessons. A key element in any language course is a stron g learni ng to learn component. This could incl ud e discussions and even d emonstrations of dif ferent learnin g sty les and explanations of the methods. This is important in the developm ent of participants’ learni ng strategies and, if employed near the beginning of a course, can ease the way for the introduction of new methodologies such as task-based learning.

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Some factors for facilitators to consider: participants’ ages and any special requirements; their r oles in European y outh work; t heir reason for learni ng t he language; variou s social reali ti es; how participants are used t o learnin g; their previous language learning experiences; ways of encouraging partici pants to be confi dent and adv entu rou s learn ers. (See 1.2 Roles of l earners and facili tators).

You m ay be in a sit uati on wh ere you and the participants are the only resources available: this might seem a daunting challenge, but is a sti mu latin g call for you r resour cefu ln ess! In case you fi nd y our self in such a sit uati on, we have provided an example to inspire you!. If th ere are few conventi onal teachi ng m aterials available, look within and around you, draw on th e experiences/feelin gs/ob serv ation s... etc of t he parti cipants. Once your task has been decided upon, the materials can be created from what is available: people, geography, buildings and so on. (See Section 3.1 Tasks from No Materials).

2.3.2 Negot iatin g cou rse con ten t

2.3.4 The in tercult ural dimension

An over-riding in flu ence in choosing you r tasks wil l be th e wishes of t he participant s. There is little point in pursuing a course of action if parti cipants are un wil lin g to carry i t out . They may each have a different agenda: this will need to be managed and n egotiated as a group. If participants are asked about th eir expectations, requirements and wishes, a course can be negotiated wh ich can address most plausible requirements of the participants. In the choice of methodol ogy, it mu st b e remembered that an unfamiliar methodology cannot be foisted upon a group without negotiation. Facilitators may need to adapt decisions and meth odologies accordin g to th e wishes of th e group and in response to on-goin g evalu ation dur in g a course. If however, th e facil it ator feels it necessary to i nt rodu ce th e parti cipants to a new methodology, this will h ave to be discussed wi th th em. Participants are sometimes surprised, however, at how much they enjoy methods whi ch were previously unf amiliar to th em.

2.3.3 Location of cour se and resou rces available The locati on of th e course wil l in evitably affect th e availabil it y and choi ce of t asks and m aterials. The following points need to be considered: wil l m aterials to suppor t activi ti es and

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tasks be freely available? If not, what can you do in advance to obtain suit able material? Wil l you have to adapt or change planned tasks in th is location ? Will parti cipants contri but e materials? How can you manage with mini mal materi als?How can you use oth er resources as well as language-based materials? (See Section 4 Selecting and using materials.)

When considering suggestions for language course activities and materials, the desire to increase participants’ cultural awareness is paramount. Rather than provide a platform to expound the glories of high culture, it is hoped that by learning the language, participants will also be encouraged to consider aspects of daily li vin g whi ch may be different to wh at they are famili ar with . In th is way, it i s hoped to provoke participants’ self-awareness and awareness of others, and to examine certain cultural aspects which may have been taken for granted. Acti vit ies and tasks shou ld attempt to challenge pre-conceived stereoty pesand stim ul ate enquiry, which it i s hoped will lead to better mu tual u nderstanding. The cultural and linguistic make-up of the group will also need to be considered. If it is a mono-cultu ral group in the target l anguage country, will the intercultural dimension be ju st tw o way between th e host cou nt ry and country of origin? Will there be a micro-intercultural dimension between one nationality which is seemingly homogenous? This can be a very rewarding exercise in self-awareness among participants, especially in breaking down stereotypes: even with in a mono-national group, people can be asked to con sider di fferent experiences, lif esty les or social reali ti es


and beliefs. Participants will be encouraged to see themselves and those around them as indiv iduals with their own values and b eliefs. Intercultural understanding can be very enriching when bonds are formed th rough beliefs and attitu des rather than only national boundaries. If it is a mu lti -cultu ral group, there may be one nationality which is conspicuously larger than others; will this have any bearing on acti vi ti es and group dyn amics?M igh t some participants feel exclu ded if t hey are not part of the dominant language sub-group? (Consideration of th is may need to be given wh en organising sub-grou ps.) Wil l participants themselves decide who th ey form sub-groups with , or will th e facilitator form t he groups with an intercultural balance? Facilitators may also need to consider any tensions which may already exist or arise between nation aliti es and to be aware of possible sensitivities. The material you find may not seem to have an intercul tu ral perspectiv e to it , yet you m ay be able to create intercultural tasks from it. Often, something very specific to a certain environment can lead very well into comparisons and reflections about th e differences in

experiences. For example even an articl e abou t someth in g as seemi ngly banal as dog–walk in g may lead to reflections on animals: the way people treat th em, people’s att it udes to t hem, vivisection, animal rights groups, working anim als and so on. An art icle was recent ly u sed about a strand of Bill Cli nt on’s hair w hi ch was auctioned for almost £500! As you can imagine, th e refl ecti ons upon th is can take many paths. Even shopping receipts picked up off the floor can lead to tasks on shoppin g habi ts/foo d consum ption/ consum erism. Observin g t he w ay different countries organise addresses can also lead to interesting comparisons of people’s views of hou sing and civ ic matt ers.

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This Section ends with a concrete example of a work ed thr ough task. The task is preparin g and eati ng a m eal together. The only materials are the participants, facilitator and course locality. This means it is a task from no materials. (See also 3.1 Task from No Materials.) At each stage of the framework there are step-by-step guidelines indi catin g what to do and how to do it . Successful r eali sati on of t hi s task shou ld be a most enjoyable experience!

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2.4 Concrete example of a task Context: with a multicultural group you decide to prepare a meal and to u se this activit y t o learn t he language.

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TASK: preparing a meal

PRE-TASK What to do

How to do it

Discuss:

Expla in specialities from d ifferent count ries ; gather promotional material from different stores ; study special offers; examine ava ilab le budget ; check available ingredients, utensils, etc ; put toget her a menu. Important lang uag e points: vocabulary of cooking a nd fo od, numb ers, etc …

• • • • • •

Po ssible me nu s/dishe s Fo o d like s/d islikes Availab le budg et Available ingredients Available utensils … …

TASK PREPARATION What to do

How to do it

• • • •

Express likes and dislikes ; de cide w ho is to d o w h a t ; d e cid e w h e re t o sh o p ; g o s h o pping ; make a list of things to be bought w ith their prices; check receipts; … Importa nt language points: making comparisons, neg ot iating , decision-ma king, communicat ion activities (buying thing s, a sking for informa tion, prices, et c).

Select th e menu to be prepared Divide it into stag es Find out w ha t ea ch person is ab le to do Decide ea ch person ’s responsibility

• Collect money • Go shopping

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TASK REALISATION

What to do

How to do it

• • • • •

Decide w here everyone is to sit ; settle an y disputes ; ta lk ab out individua l preferences, the role of w omen and men, eat ing ha bits in different countries, etc ; w rite o ut menus ; Im p o r t a n t l a n g u a g e p o i n t s : n e g o t ia t in g , conversat ion g amb its, giving command s, requesting things, prepositions of place etc.

Co o k t h e m e a l Se t a n d d e c o ra t e t h e t a b l e Resolve a ny disputes Ea t a n d c h a t Wash up

2

POST-TASK What to do

How to do it

• Comment o n an d discuss the me al and its

Share view s, feeling s and sensations; org anise a deb at e on different food ha bits (vegetarian/non-vegeta rian ); put tog ether an internationa l menu ; write an account in the past tense ; etc … Importa nt lang uag e points: expressing the p a s t , e xp re ssin g s u b t le t i e s, a g r e e i n g a n d disag reeing, etc.

preparat ion, human relat ionships, any disputes tha t ma y have a risen

• Excha ng e recipes, etc • Write a letter to a friend describing t he evening, et c

• Invent a new (intercultura l ?) recipe • ......

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3. Examples of Task-Based Learning Methodology in language learning T-Kit

This Section contains furth er concrete examples of TBLL. Firstly, there is a task from no-materials; secondly, six different tasks generated from one piece of material, a photograph; and th ird ly, six dif ferent tasks using a n ewspaper arti cle as materi al in put (See also 101 ways of maki ng th e most of w hat you ’ve got – Secti on 5.4.) Each task demonstrates th e fl exibil it y of TBLL. Focus is always on th e acti vi ti es at each stage of the framework (the process) with language being elicited and supplied at the appropriate times to facilitate successful task reali sation (the end produ ct). In th is way, language used shoul d be aut hent ic to t he needs of the learners, in their quest to realise the task. The choice of task wi ll be dictated by th e profi le of parti cipants. Some in dication s of levels and group sizes are given as guidelines for

certain t asks, but facili tators will learn to m odif y and adapt activ iti es and tasks to sui t in divid uals and groups. TBLL is not prescript ive and most tasks can be adapted for all levels, mi xed levels, mono-l ingu al groups and mu lti li ngual grou ps. The essential poi nt is to focus on t he task, the acti vi ti es needed to r eali se the task and provide language as it is needed. A wellchosen pi ece of material w il l h elp th is process, but tasks from n o-materials are equally valid. (See Secti on 4 “Selecti ng an d u sing m ateri als”.) All th e examples given in th is Secti on shoul d work if followed to the letter, but we hope facilit ators will experiment wi th them, findin g different activities, cutting out parts which seem less auth entic to a specifi c context and so on. Above all , we hope you wil l enjoy f acilitating TBLL!

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3.1 Task from ‘No Materials’ Thi s task d emonstrates th at it is possibl e to create meaningfu l activ it ies and tasks using on ly th e context and people as resour ces. Context: “I’m a language facilitator w orkin g wit h a monolin gual group in Romania. I h ave no m aterials! What can I do? You’ve just arriv ed; you k now n oth ing about Romania, so ask th e group t o produ ce a leaflet t o h elp you wh il e you’re here!” Materials: None (apart fr om Stationery) Group Size: Any (if very large numbers, divide into working groups of 4/6) Level: Lower levels Task: Producing a poster with useful information for a first-time visitor to Romania

PRE-TASK • Wha t d o yo ur senses tell you ?

• Walk around the locality and use

Wh a t d o w e h a v e t o d o ? Id e n t i f y things which might be strang e to a visitor. How do w e do it ? Use your senses an d commo n sense !

your nose ! Wha t smells can you identify? Find the words from the fa cilitato r.

• In the g roup. Close your eyes and listen. What can you hea r ? Open your eyes and compare w ith others (draw what you heard and the fa cilitato r w ill give the w ords).

• Sta nd still and look around. Identify fi ve things w hich mea n h o m e to you (for the visitor fi ve things w hich are n o t home).

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TASK PREPARATION • Wh a t sh a l l w e p u t o n t h e p o s t e r ? • Selecting, sharing, compa ring , neg ot iating, deciding (can be done in mother ton gue if appropriat e).

• Wh a t w ill w e n e e d t o m a k e t h e p o st e r ?

3

This pha se should gene rat e lang ua ge a r o u n d t h e a r e a s se le ct e d f o r t h e p o st e r and w ill proba bly include mo des of t ransport, times and prices, w ords for shops and services, designing a poster – layout, sp a t i a l la n g u a g e a n d so o n .

TASK REALISATION • Ga ther th e ma terials necessary to produce the poster(s). (This shou ld g enera te the langua ge of stat ionery and craft ma terials)

• Produce the poster and display

• Co m m e n t o n t h e p o st e r

POST-TASK The fa cilita to r loo ks a t t he po ster and ta lks a bo ut it s usef ulness. The f a cilitator’s role at this stage is to be the visito r and help pa rticipant s to express th emselves as they present t heir comp le t e d t a sk . So m e p r a c t ic e o f t h e t a r g e t l a n g u a g e ca n o c cu r w i t h sm a l l conversa tions a round the informa tion on t he poster.

In addition some exchange of language can take place, for example ‘in my language w e say’…‘and in your language you say’ … These exchang es may ident ify linguistic simila rities o r differences, for exam ple: a greement of ad jectives, w ord o rder, use of a rticles, ca pita l let ters an d so on.

Comments – A follow-up task could be for the facilitator to produce a poster for visitors to hi s/her country. This coul d b e used t o re-enforce the language and encourage fur th er in tercult ural awareness. – The same task used wit h intermediate and higher levels would be equally valid. It would generate more advanced language and lead t o m ore in -depth exchanges in th e target language. It cou ld also be very u seful for mi xed level groups. NB. The task i n Secti on 2.4 Preparin g a meal i s a fu rth er exampl e of a task from noth in g.

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3.2 Exploitation of a Photograph

4

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Task 1 : Prod ucing po st ers fo r an exhib it ion on t he theme of ‘Youth and old age’ Material: Copies of th e photograph of th e elderly person Other Material: Old magazines and newspapers; stationery Group: Four + Level: Intermediate and Higher

PRE-TASK • Sh o w p a r t icip a n t s t h e p h o t o a n d

• The g roup t hen t hinks of a ll the

ask them to brainstorm a ll the w ords t h a t co m e i n t o t h e i r h e a d s w h e n t h e y l o o k a t t h e p h o t o – so m e o n e w rites all the w ords up in one column.

opposites they can to the words they ha ve written – someone w rites this up in a secon d column.

• Make sure the w ords ‘young ’ and ‘old’ a re clea rly displayed .

3

TASK PREPARATION • Divide the group into two sub-

• Ask the pa rticipant s to pick out a

groups (n o t a c c o r d i n g t o a g e s ! ) and label them either ‘old’ or ‘young’.

picture w hich t hey t hink relates to their topic, i.e. old o r young.

• Encourage them to discuss w ith

• Give the groups a selection of ma-

e a c h o t h e r w h y t h e y h a v e ch o s en the pictures.

g a z in e s a n d n e w sp a p e r s.

TASK REALISATION sta y by th eir posters and explain w hy the y chose the pictures.

• Participants put their pictures o n t o a p o s t e r a n d d i sp la y t h e posters.

• After a while, swap the groups over so t he othe r half has a chance to w alk around t he exhibition.

• Half the pa rticipan ts wa lk around the exhibition w hile the o ther ha lf

POST-TASK • The g roup can reflect upon t he w ords they chose at the beginning and discuss w ha t t hey fe el are prejudices

surrounding the young a nd old : do people ha ve any fi rst-han d experiences of th ese prejudices?

Comments This can be adapted to lower levels where the language input would be more in the nature of singl e items of vocabul ary and sim ple constru ction s.

36


Task 2 : Present ing a case histor y of a person t o Social Services Material: Copies of th e photograph of th e elderly person Other Material: Stationery Group: Eight + Level: All l evels including m ixed

PRE-TASK • Either as a w ho le group, or in sma ller

• Write up the suggestions in note

sub-g roups : Describe th e person in the pho to ; give him/her a nam e, socia l situa tion, a profession , typica l da ily activities, prefe rred diet e tc.

form fo r everyone to see, or, aft er a bo ut 5 – 10 minutes, ask som eon e in t h e g r o u p t o m a k e n o t e s o n t h e description.

3

TASK PREPARATION • Tell the gro ups tha t this person has just been referred to Social Services. He/she ne ed s to be rehoused in an old people’s home. The co mm unit y he/she is g oing into is differen t f rom t he o ne h e/she is leaving.

• In the ir presenta tion, th ey shou ld ma ke Social Services a w are o f w ha t w ill be different fo r the person entering the new situation and

give a ny a dvice o n h elping him/her to adapt.

• Each g roup is go ing to ma ke a present a tio n to Social Services describing this person’s situation (wa y of life, including any religious convictions, diet etc.).

• In th e sub-g roups, participa nt s plan their presentation, making notes only.

TASK REALISATION • Groups give t heir presentat ions to t he rest of t he participant s

• This could be a rrang ed a s if t he rest of the participants were a committ ee from Socia l Services.

Comments This could be done with a lower group if more language was provided during the preparation stage: e.g.: he lik es/h e doesn’t li ke etc. She is Jewish/ Chr isti an/ M usli m etc.

37


Task 3 : Role-play : sugg estin g h ousing op tion s fo r th e elderly person Material: Copies of t he phot ograph of t he elderly person Other Material: Role-cards (see task preparati on) Group: Any Level: Intermediate - Higher

PRE-TASK th e po ssibilities/comm on pra ctices for elderly people in this sit u a t i o n ?

• Brainstorm possible housing options for this person, assuming he/she could no long er live indepen de ntly.

3

• Display th e list of a lterna tives.

• Make comparisons between d i f f e re n t c o u n t r ie s : w h a t a r e

TASK PREPARATION • Divide participants into subgroups – one group for each role-card. (See role cards below.)

• Distribut e t he ro le-cards so tha t the members of each group have t he same roles, e.g. d octo rs, social w orkers etc.

• Tell the pa rticipant s tha t t hey are going to take part in a m e e t i n g w it h o t h e r p e o p le t o decide t he best housing o ption for the elderly person.

• The g roups who ha ve to g ive an opinion brainstorm the

38

arg uments fo r their case. Each group may wa nt to make notes.

• Groups of chairpersons can decide ho w they w ill cha ir the meeting, and how they will ma ke a d ecision. Do t hey ha ve any criteria w hich might affe ct their decision ? E.g. how w ill t h e id e a b e fi n a n ce d ?

• The f a cilita to r provide s la ng u a g e f o r p e rsu a s iv e a r g u i n g .

• After 10 – 15 minut es, sto p th e groups a nd divide the participa nts into new groups of mixed characters.


TASK REALISATION • Each of the groups has their

• The f acilitat or mo nitors, but

discussion.

doe s not interact at t his sta ge.

POST-TASK to compa re th eir discussions and the group can discuss the main arguments.

• Participants come to ge ther into on e g roup. The cha irpersons come to the front of the g roup a nd discuss th eir de cisions. The others may wish to comment, but t he chair people w ill be ab le

The f acilitat or g ives feed ba ck on langua ge used a nd its effectiveness.

3

ROLE CARDS

A

A You a re the chairman a t a m e e t in g o f people deciding the best housing option for the elderly person.

B

B

You a re a relat ive of t he elderly per son w ho thinks th a t h e/she should come a nd live with you.

C

C

You are a relat ive of the elderly person w ho thinks tha t he/she sho uld rema in in his/her o w n h ou se but should be provided w ith a full-time carer by Social Services.

A

A

B

B

C

C

D

D

E

E

F

F

You are the elderly person’s doctor. You th ink th at he/she should be put in an old peo ple’s home, paid fo r partly by Social Services and partly by th e fa mily.

D

D

You are the elderly person’s social w orker. You t hink he /she w ou ld prefer to live alone, with a part-time carer visiting da ily.

E

E

Other?

F

F

39


Task 4 : Presenting a sum mary of int erview s w ith elderly people Material: Copies of th e photograph of th e elderly person Other Material: (elderly people to int erview!); station ery Group: Six + Level: Intermediate - Higher

PRE-TASK • Sh o w t h e p a r t icip a n t s t h e p h o t o , an d a sk them t o d escribe t he person : w hat kind of character do they

think he/she might ha ve ? Wha t kind of life d o t hey t hink he/she might le a d ?

3

TASK PREPARATION • Ask the pa rticipant s: if you w ere go ing to interview this person, w hat w ould yo u like to a sk him/her ?

• The pa rticipan ts individua lly inte rview some elderly people. If the

TASK REALISATION

course is not taking place in the ta rget lang uage country, the intervie w s ca n b e d o n e i n t h e lo c a l language, and the presentations in t h e t a r g e t l a n g u a g e .

POST-TASK

• Participants present

• Ask the participant s wha t t hey learnt

a summary of their interviews to the rest o f t h e g ro u p.

from this: wha t w ere their reactions to the e lderly people’s answers?

Comments

• Lower level participants can be involved by interviewing people together with someone of a slightly higher level: the questions could be decided upon together.

• If th ere are no elderly people available to be int erviewed, some partici pants can pl ay th e part of an elderly person: invent t hi ngs the person has done; the ki nd of li fe he/she has led etc.

• This can be a fun activity regardless of whether the interviews are carried out with real elderly people, especially if th e grou p is creative: th ey can th in k u p adventu res th e person has had etc.

• The task would then be the conducting of interviews, which could be video taped.

40


Task 5 : Givin g a descript ion of a person t o t he police Material: Copies of th e photograph of th e elderly person Other Material: A Poli ce From to com plete Group: Four + Level: Al l

PRE-TASK • Elicit physica l descript ions of peo ple in the group.

With higher levels, make sure the de scriptions a re in-dep th.

3

TASK PREPARATION • Give pa rticipant s the phot o. • Tell pa rticipan ts tha t t his person has gone missing and they are going to have to give a detailed description of him/her t o t he

po lice. They cou ld invent m a nnerisms e.g. t he w ay he/she w alks.

• Participan ts w ork in pa irs and ma ke notes around the photo about w hat they w ill say to the po lice.

TASK REALISATION • Participan ts w ork in different pairs.

• One person has the photo, the ot her has the po lice form.

• The Police m a n/w oma n interview s

• Participants swap roles and

the person giving the description a nd fi lls in h is/her f orm.

partners, and repeat the interview s.

POST-TASK • Police forms can be displayed and comp a r ed ; a n y e xt ra la n g u a g e ca n b e a d d e d w here necessa ry.

Comments This can be extended to a more literary descript ion of someone they k now, wh ere th e physical description leads on to a detailed ‘story’ of this person’s life in narrative form. This can be very interesting when participants share information about people who are very special t o th em.

41


POLICE FORM

Description of the missing person:

Name of the missing person: .......................................................

3

....................................................................................................

....................................................................................................

Physical description of the person:.......................................... ....................................................................................................

....................................................................................................

Any distinguishing features:...................................................... ....................................................................................................

....................................................................................................

Comments:

.....................................................................................

....................................................................................................

....................................................................................................

Name and contact details of the p erso n gi vi ng i nf ormation : ....................................................................................................

....................................................................................................

....................................................................................................

42


Task 6 : Role-p lays : an elderly person int eracti ng w i t h o t h e r m e m b e r s o f t h e co m m u n i t y Material: Copies of th e photograph of th e elderly person Other Material: Station ery; lots of magazines wit h pi ctur es Group: Four + Level: Lower Intermediate

PRE-TASK • Lo o k a t t h e p h o t o . • From the m ag azines, fi nd pictures

• Brainstorm and t hink ab out a ll the peo ple he/she ma y come a cross during the course of a typical da y.

w hich could represent t hese people.

3

TASK PREPARATION can take the form of a story; it could be one e vent or a series of eve nt s/role -pla ys.

• Divide the participan ts into g roups of four or five.

• Participants prepare and rehearse the sket ches.

• Tell the m the y are g oing t o pre-

• Each person in th e g roup must be

sent a short sketch of ‘A day in the . life of …...…(the elderly person)’

given a role to play. The sketch

TASK REALISATION • Participa nts perfo rm th eir sketch t o t h e r e st o f t h e g r o u p.

POST-TASK • Pa rticipant s discuss each o f t he situations remarking on t he differences and similarities in their various societ ies: w hat w ould be the same/different a ctivities carried out b y elderly people in different countries?

• Lang uag e fo cus – the different funct io n s u se d i n t h e r o l e-p la y s : w a s

their langua ge a ffected by the perso n t h e y w e r e t a lkin g t o ?

• This could lead to the w a y elderly peo ple are spoken to /trea ted in societies: do es your lan gua ge h ave a respectful form of a ddress (Vous in French and Lei in Ita lia n) w hich is used for t he e lderly ?

43


3.3 Exploitation of a Newspaper Article ‘I regret having sex but I love my Georgia’ from The Mirror of 2nd September 1999. (Reproduced wi th perm ission from Rosie Dunn and M ir ror Syndi cation In tern ational ) This text was chosen by participants on an Intercultural Language Learning Course for European Youth Leaders at Edwards Langu age School in September 19 99. The parti cipants were very sur prised by t he arti cle and were keen to discuss the issues surrounding it. The picture shows a girl (Kathleen) aged 13 holdin g the baby she gave birt h t o wh en she was 12. The article int rodu ces Kath leen’s situ ation and con tains an open letter written by her. In the letter she gives advice to young girls who may find themselves in a similar situation. The style of the article is informal and includes many examples of colloquial language. KATHLEEN Moss was just 12 when she gave birth to her daughter a year ago. Shecelebratedherchild'sfirstbirthday in June – just after she’d celebrated her own 13th. Today she gives her advice to the two Yorkshire girls who facethe same shocking dilemma as she did. She also gives an insight into an epidemicofchildhood pregnanciesin Britain.

3

‘

I WASN’T surprised when I heard that two more girls are having babies as young as I was. It’s happening everywhere, but the only thing I can tell them is that they will just have to get on with it. That’s what everyone told me, because they said there wasno point in crying over spilt milk. Having a baby at 12 definitely makes you grow up qui cker,becauseyou h ave to face the responsibilities of look ing after a baby of your own. Lots of people said it wou ld ruin my life, but I don’t believe it has. I love my baby and I will look after her the best I can. Hopefully, these two girls will have the support of t heir families. My family were behind me all the way and I couldn’t have coped without them helping m e. They still help me now and I’ve gone back to school and take Georgia with me every day. It’s strange at first to believe that it’s your baby – it took a long time for it to sink in that Georgia was my child. I’m sure these girls will feel a bit weird about it at first, but I promise it gets easier. My family were shocked, and I h id it from everyone right up until three weeks before I gave birth. I was really frightened to be having a baby, but I didn’t really understand it.

I reg ret having sex but I lo ve m y Ge o r g i a

Laugh

Photograph

of Kathleen

and her baby

Scared

When you’re a kid you just try and hide it however you can, because you think you’re going to be in a lot of trouble. But of the worst bit of i t all was being scared of wh at people say about you i n the street. I hated being called names in the beginning, but it doesn’t last. That’s all stopped now and I just go out as normal. I think these girls should just stick with th eir families and they will be OK. They shouldn’t take any notice if people call them bad names – there’s worse things you can do th an have a baby. I can guarantee them th at in time all the fuss will die down, just like it did with me. I don’t even think about it any more.

44

when I grow u p. That’s why I’ve gone back to school. These girls will realise how important that is as their babies start to grow up. It was only h aving Georgia that made me realise I needed to go back to school. Just because the girls are going t o have children of their own doesn’t mean they cant get an education for themselves. I would say that going back to school is one of the most important things for them so th ey can get a job later on and look after their child. I know you probably think y ou can’t cope with all of this right now, but you can. I used to th ink t he same when I first h ad Georgia. If anything, I think my life has improved. I used to run away from school and played truant before I had Georgia. "Now I am down to study eight GCSEs when I go back to school this week. I’m very proud of myself and my baby. I’m lucky to go to a mother – andbaby unit, but even if that’s not available for them they should just try and get the best education they can.

Giving birth wasn’t as bad asI thou ght it would be, but then by that stage you don ’t have any choice anyway. I don’t wh y so many young girls are having babies early now. I know I di dn’t think about my future. When I had sex I didn’t un derstand it - it was just something to do at the time. A lot of kids are bored and they’re growing up a lot quicker these days. But these girls will have to change their li ves now. Having a baby m eans a lot of responsibility, and they w ill h ave to learn to change nappies and fix bottles like I did. They might not lik e it at first, but they’ll just have to get used to it.

They’ll also have to get used to getting up in the night when their baby cries. I know some people say I don’t have a normal l ife for a 13-year-old, but it’s normal to me. It’s the only li fe I know. I’m sure these girls feel a bit scared about what will happen next, but they’ll soon get settled into a routine with their baby, especially if their own mums are there to give them a hand. Georgia is lovely and she’s all mine. If I could turn the clock back I would n’t do the same again, but on the other hand I wouldn’t want to be without Georgia for anythi ng. I regret having sex, but I don’t regret having her. I want nice th ings for her

It’s also important to still have time to have a laugh wit h you r mates. Some of the girls I mix with h ave babies of their own, so we have lots in common. I’m not with Georgia’s father any more, and despite what everyone says I can look after her properly with my family. I never thought about contraception before because I was too young to know about that sort of stuff. I’m sure these girls are exactly th e same asme. Maybe kids should be taught about it earlier in school, but it would have been no use for me anyway because I never used to go to school before I had Georgia. People still get shocked by the fact that I h ad a baby at 12, but it doesn’t shock me. It just h appens. I was terrified of my mu m finding out, but she has stood by me all the way. There’s no point in w ishing it hadn’t happened – it’s too late for th at. Having a baby may not be what these girls expected at their age, but just because you’re a young mu m it doesn’t mean you’re too young to love your own child. I’d say hang on in th ere and you w ill get by. You don’t have to give up or miss out on pop music and clothes for yourself. You just have to change things around a little to make sure you put your baby first. At the end of th e day,if you l ove your babies as much as I love Georgia, it will all be all right in the end. Love and care are the best things you can give your child, and the rest will w ork itself out. Good luck!

‘

Kathleen was talking to ROSIE DUNN


Task 1 : Prod ucing po st ers fo r an exhib iti on on t he theme of ‘Youth and old age’ Material: Copies of th e photograph onl y (of Kathl een and h er baby) Other Material: Stationery Group: Any size Level: Al l

PRE-TASK draw a family tree for very low levels).

• G i ve o u t t h e p h o t o g r a p h t o s u b groups of tw o or three.

• Ask participan ts to gue ss the ag es. • Bring the g roups tog ether to com-

• Ask participants to guess who the p e o p le a r e ; w h a t is t h e r e la t i o n sh ip ? (It m a y b e n e ce s sa r y t o

p a r e id e a s .

3

TASK PREPARATION • Tell pa rticipa nt s th ey a re go ing

• Ask participants to comment on

t o im a g in e t h e y a r e K a t h l e e n a n d a r e g o i n g t o w r it e a le t t e r t o h e r friend saying ho w she fee ls.

h o w t h e y think Kat hleen may be feeling : you may need t o introduce some basic language for giving opinions.

• Elicit or introduce language to

• Not e do w n all the possible feelings

express Kathleen’s emotions e.g. ha ppy/frig ht en ed /de pressed et c.

that are sugg ested a nd display them.

TASK REALISATION • Participa nts can w ork in pa irs or

• The lett ers can t hen b e sent t o

alone.

other members of the g roup and displayed as a ‘Dear Frien d ’ or ‘A g o n y A u n t ’ pa g e o f a m a g a zine.

• They w rite Kat hleen’s let te r, describing her feelings during p re g n a n cy a n d n o w .

POST-TASK • Where the la ng ua ge level is ap pro-

• Where the la ng ua ge level is ap pro-

p ria t e , t h e t e x t ca n b e s h o w n t o participants who can compare w hat they thought Kathleen w ould f e e l w i t h w h a t sh e a c t u a l ly w ro t e .

priat e, participan ts can d iscuss each other’s letters and give feedback on the ir impressions

45


Task 2 : Pro du cing a leafl et on gu id elin es fo r ‘Sex edu catio n in scho ols’ Material: Copies of th e art icl e; separate copies of t he ph oto ; separate copi es of the headlin e Other Material: Stationery Group: Any Size Level: Intermediate +

PRE-TASK • Give the picture to sub-groups of t w o o r t h r e e p a r t icip a n t s a n d a s k them to guess the relationship

3

you understa nd (empa thize with) Kat hleen’s fe elings ?

• Ask the participan ts to predict w ha t

b e t w e e n t h e g i rl a n d t h e b a b y .

the a rticle w ill say : do t hey think

• Ask the g roups to give feedb ack to

Kathleen w ill be f righ ten ed/upset

ea ch oth er to compa re each group’s

/w orried et c.?

• Participa nts rea d t he a rticle to see

suggestions.

• Give pa rticipant s the he ad line only

if their predictions w ere accurate .

and ask for their reactions. Does

• They compa re th eir reactions w ith

this sta tement surprise you ? Can

each o ther.

TASK PREPARATION

w hat ad vice could have been g iven to Kat hleen so tha t this situa tion could ha ve been avoided.

e.g. what Kathleen thinks was wrong with her education and the reasons why she thinks this happened.

• Tell pa rticipant s they a re go ing t o

• Then t hey compa re each ot her’s

produce a leafl et g iving guidelines on sex ed uca tio n in scho ols. The aim of t his leafl et is to f ocus on t he value of relationships and person a l d e v e lo p m e n t r a t h e r t h a n b i o logical knowledge alone.

experiences of sex education at school noting down any differences and how effective it wa s.

• Ask the participants to consider

• Participants pick out sta teme nts in t h e t e x t w h ich w o u l d h e lp t h e m

46

• In groups of two or three, participant s then decide w hat elements the y w ould like to include in their leaflet and how they want to arrange it.


TASK REALISATION

• Participan ts produce their leafl ets

• Lea fl ets can t hen be d isplayed for

in g r o u p s o f t w o o r t h r e e .

o t h e r s t o r e a d a n d co m m e n t o n .

3

POST-TASK

• Any extra language work can

• Refl ections on comments mad e

be carried o ut on the t ext. In this particular text, there are a lot of idioms and colloquial language phrases.

in each other's leafl ets. How v a l id a r e t h e s u g g e st i o n s ?

Th e f u n c t io n a l la n g u a g e is also useful, e.g. expressing regret.

• How could t hese comments be relevant in participants’ youth w o r k ? E. g . d o a n y o f t h e p a r ticipants work in this area, or r e la t e d a r e a s ?

Comments

–

Thi s can be a very sensiti ve issue whi ch needs to be treated careful ly. The sharin g of experiences shou ld be done as inf ormally as possibl e with participants offering in form ation on ly if th ey wish, as th is may be an issue th at is not usually openly di scussed.

–

Thi s provid es a very good chance for a wide range of experiences to be shared on a topic whi ch often tu rns out t o be both cultu rally and indi vidu ally very specific. Discussions on educational issues often provide interesting insights into the values and behaviour of different societies, sin ce people can relate their educati onal experiences to t heir curr ent v alues and attitudes.

47


Task 3 : Role-p lay : giv ing Kat hleen adv ice

Material: Copies of the article; role cards; copies of the grid (see below) Other Material: Stationery Group: Any Size Level: Intermediate +

PRE-TASK • Ask pa rticipant s if th ey rememb er being

• Tell pa rticipant s the y are g oing t o rea d

given advice w hen they w ere younger, and how they felt a bout it. Did they have a strict upbringing , or wa s it more liberal ?

the a rticle, and to think ab out w hat kind of a dvice they wo uld give to Kath leen.

• When they have read the article, they

• Feedb ack from t he g roup

3

should fi ll in the g rid in pa irs;

Person A

Person B

– Why did Kathleen become p re g n a n t ?

– What does she think of her situation now ?

– Wh a t d o e s sh e re g r e t ?

– What ad vice does she give to o thers in her situat ion ?

TASK PREPARATION • In sub-groups of three or four, partici-

• Pa rticipant s fo rm pairs. Give out the role

pants discuss what they would say to Kathleen.

cards to ea ch pair and g ive them a few minutes to rea d t heir role.

• Afte r a few minutes, ask pa rticipant s to sit next to someone from a different group.

• As a group, brainstorm the functional language for giving advice and persuading.

• Display the lang ua ge , a nd discuss possible modifi cations for different strengths of o pinion.

48


TASK REALISATION • Participants converse for about 5 minutes.

• Facilitator walks around and monitors the language, noting down any sugge stions for the post-ta sk phase.

POST-TASK

3

• Participant s come toget her as a group and d iscuss their ad vice: did th ey t hink it w a s u se f u l ?

• Feedback can be given on language used.

Comments

Role cards can be swapped so that people can try different roles.

Person A

Person B

• You a re Kat hleen ’s a unt /uncle.

• You a re Kath leen Mo ss.

• D e cid e w h e t h e r y o u w a n t t o p e r su a d e

• Your a unt /uncle has come t o t a lk to you

Kat hleen to have the ba by or terminate the pregna ncy. Think ab out your arg uments and how you’re going to express them, then beg in your conversat ion.

about whether you should have your ba by o r terminate the pregna ncy. Think a b o u t h o w y o u m ig h t r e a ct t o d i f f e re n t sugg estions. Then beg in your conversation.

• You are Kathleen Moss’s good friend and you’ve come to cheer her up. Make positive suggestions for her future.

• You a re Kat hleen Moss. You w an t t o join a local youth group, so you’ve a rran ged a meeting w ith the yo uth lead er. Think of some questions to ask and say why you w ould like to join.

• You a re Kath leen Mo ss. Your b est friend has come to visit you to help you make plans for your future.

• You a re the leader of a local youth group. Kathleen has come to you a bout joining your g roup, Think of some a dvice yo u could give her, then answ er her questions.

49


Task 4 : Present ing t he result s of research o n t eenage issues Material: Copies of th e arti cle Other Material: A coll ecti on of teenage magazin es Group: Any Size Level: Intermediate and higher

PRE-TASK • Ask participants to scan the article to fi nd o ut w ha t concerns Kat hleen h a s a s a t e e n a g e r.

• Participan ts divide into g roups and compare t heir sugg estions. • If the group is not large enough for sub-groups, they can stay as one group, a nd o ne o f t he pa rticipant s can chair the discussion.

• Participants then sha re and compare information a bout t eena gers in their different countries.

3

TASK PREPARATION • Spread the teena ge mag azines out w here everyone can see.

• Looking at the covers only, participa nts discuss w ha t the y think are the ma in interests of te ena gers.

• Participants divide into groups of three or four, w ith some ma ga zines per group.

• Tell th e pa rticipant s they a re go ing to ta ke one or tw o mag azines per

TASK REALISATION • Participa nts present their posters to t he rest of the g roup.

group (these can be the same in ea ch group) an d prepare a poster on t he ma in interests an d concerns o f t e e n a g e r s.

• They look through t he ma ga zines, skim rea ding some o f the relevant articles.

• Participants then prepare and design a poster depicting the inter est s o f t e e n a g e r s.

POST-TASK • Pa rticipant s ca n cont inue the ir previou s discussion ab out issues con cerning te ena ge rs in different countries.

• Were th ey surprised by a ny of the ir findings?

• What do t hey think of the mag azines? Comments

There is a lot of scope to expand on th is topi c; the search can be extended to the Internet. Participants can prepare questions and interview teenagers if th ey are available, then report back to the group.

50


Task 5 : M aking a presentat ion f or a bid for f und - in g

Material: Copies of t he article Other Material: Station ery; (overhead projector if avail able) Group: Any Size Level: Intermediate - higher

PRE-TASK

TASK PREPARATION

• Participants read the a rti-

• Expla in tha t pa rticipant s w ill prepa re

cle t o fi n d o u t w h y Ka t h leen says this ha ppened to h e r a n d h o w sh e f e e ls it ha s chang ed her.

present at ions a s bids for fund ing for a w orkshop on t eena ge issues.

• Brainstorm w hat should be included

3

in the presentations e.g. the aims, the plan, the money required and allocated etc.

• Participants share their reactions.

• Participants should divide into subgroups an d d iscuss idea s for a w orkshop.

• They th en prepare a presenta tion a s

TASK REALISATION

a b id f o r f u n d in g f o r t h e w o r ksh o p .

• Sub-g roups present the ir w orkshop bids to the rest of the participants.

POST-TASK • Discussion : w h ich b i d w a s t h e s t ro n g e s t ?

• Feedback from facilitator on language used in presentations

• Further exploitation of language in the te xt

Comments

Thi s is a good chance for hi gher-level partici pants to develop th eir presentation ski ll s. The presentations can be videoed and played back f or fu rth er discussion . Thi s coul d l ead t o a wri tt en application for funding. (See Section 5 DIY Workshop, and Appendix 3 feedback)

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Task 6 : Writing a letter to the editor o f The M irror

Material: Copies of th e arti cle Other Material: Newspapers Group: Any Size Level: Intermediate +

PRE-TASK Part icipant s collect e xamples of ‘ letters to t he editor ’ from a variety of newspapers. The fa cilita to r can collect suitab le newspapers and give them to the participant s to fi nd the letters to t he editor.

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If t hese are not ava ilable, e-ma ils from a w ebsite chat room can be used.

• Participants choose one or two example lett ers an d share th e information w ith ot hers in sub-groups. They d iscuss whe the r they a g ree with the opinions stated in the letters.

• Bring the g roups tog ether and ask fo r examples (from t he lett ers) of la n g u a g e u s e d t o st a t e o p in io n s . Display t he e xamples.

This ma terial should con ta in exam ples of giving and responding to opinions.

TASK PREPARATION • Give a copy of t he a rticle to ea ch participant.

• Participan ts read the article and think of three comprehension q uestions.

• In pa irs, participa nts ask and an swer ea ch other’s questions.

• The fa cilita to r ca n monito r the q uestions and answers and help w ith a ny langua ge problems.

• Explain to t he group th at they a re going to w rite a letter to th e editor of The Mirror.

• In o ne g roup, or sub-gro ups, participant s discuss the ir rea ctions to the a rticle.

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• Ask participants to pick out language from t he t ext w hich is used for g iving opinion.

• Elicit a nd provide langua ge an d conventions for lett er w riting.


TASK REALISATION • Participa nts w rite t heir lett ers either alon e or in pairs.

• When pa rticipant s have fi nished, t he letters can be sw appe d.

• Participan ts can then w rite a reply to a letter of their choice.

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POST-TASK Letters can be sorted according to the opinions e xpressed.

Comments

Lett ers to t he Edit or can be writ ten in response to any arti cle whi ch is controv ersial. In one newspaper in Britain, there is a regular feature based on controversial issues. This format could be used as a task-based approach: two people are asked to write letters to each other in reply to a controversial statement referring to an issue which has been in the news. The two people are from strictl y opposing sides. The correspondence contin ues for about f our or fi ve letters which are then published in the newspaper alongside each other. This could work in a similar way with a group of participants. When the participants have written their letters to the editor, they could have a debate, as their language for this subject will have been well activated. A controversial statement can be read out. Participants would form two groups with opposing opini ons. A debate could b e held and a vote taken at th e end on th e original statement.

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4. Selecting and using materials Methodology in language learning T-Kit

Thi s Secti on offers ideas on how to select ma teri als to use as tools for l an gua ge lear ni ng. All t he ma teri al sour ces suggested shoul d l end th emselves to a w i de var i ety of a ctivi ti es an d ta sks.

4.1 General considerations Reasons for choosin g materi als to u se as too ls for language learning will usually inclu de the following considerations: • You find something which is interesting, curious or topical and would lik e to incorporate it i nto a lesson. The material woul d be relevant and stimulating for learners and would create a good basis for discussion.

• You find materials which you feel would provid e a good model for someth in g whi ch participants would li ke to produce themselves.

• You h ave an i dea of wh at y ou wou ld l ike to do w ith a group and k eep an eye out for anything which would serve as materials for you r i deas. What to do when you first find a piece of interesting material? As with any creative exercise, you need to spend time just thinking and throwing ideas around. You will not arrive at t he perfect lesson pl an im mediately. Neither do you have to be a creative whizzkid. When you use your own materials, you can pick and choose from various approaches and use th em for you r pu rposes in you r context. It is, however, important to be clear about the reasons and ideas for having chosen the material and the people who will be using them. For example, what vocabulary can be related to, or elicited from, this material? If th is were a real situation , what wou ld I say to t hi s person? Wh at langu age wou ld need to be known i n order to do t his? What oth er use would thi s be in th e context of yout h wor k training, besides language learning? What information does it provide about cultural norms or attitudes? Although it may be an in teresti ng piece of material, what are learners going to do with it? What task(s) will result from using thi s material?

Tasks must be authentic to the needs of learners: what are they going to do which will imit ate something they do either in their everyday li fe or in th eir work roles? There is no reason for th em to do someth ing pur ely for th e sake of learning some language without it being a means-to-an-end t ask. The material wi ll be th e precursor to th e task, so how wil l t he piece of material facili tate the carryi ng out of th e task? At t hi s stage, the facilit ator may h ave an idea which could be focussed on: a topic for discussion or a sub ject to w ork on. This does not necessarily have to be expli cit: t he issue cou ld be approached from a different angle. The facilitator or participants could use the material to lead into certain issues. A personal story or piece of information could lead to a broader issue concerning that learner such as gender issues or their status within society. For exampl e, a video cli p on Swedish atti tu des to health has been used to l ead on t o a wide vari ety of health i ssues and lifestyl e considerati ons relevant to specifi c groups of learners. In t hi s way, by approachi ng an issue from th e micro scale rather than the macro or global perspective, learners may be able to relate better t o a topic and piece of material. Instead of sayin g ‘Let‘s discuss atti tu des to sex’, facili tators could approach the subject through a role play or simulation where participants may express mor e of their opi nion s th an they would had they been discussing the topic in abstraction (See Section 3.3 Exploitation of a newspaper art icl e.)

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Whichever method you choose, you should thi nk carefully about th e purpose of using th e piece of material: What will the learners do dur ing th e learni ng session? Will th e material serve as a model or example of something? Do you want t he material t o be used for v ocabul ary expansion – or to focus on language points? Will a picture be used to provoke a reaction? Is it t o be used as a spri ng-board for a role play? Or simply to stim ul ate interest? Materials can be used for any or all of t hese reasons and wi ll un doubt edly also resul t in purposes whi ch you have not pre-planned, but shou ld be recorded in the feedback and evaluation phase of the task cycle.

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4.2 Various sources of materials 4.2.1 M aterials from the learners The most learner-centred materials will be those chosen by learners. Something brought in by a participant will automatically have relevance, bring new energy and show that the facilitator doesn’t have to control the situation. (See Section 1.2 Roles of learners and facili tators.) Learners shou ld be encouraged t o read newspapers and choose articles which interest them. This could lead to discussions of questions posed in response to the article. Parti cipant s can be asked to choose short news items which are strange or unusual to them. If learners are not able to read newspaper articles, they can bring a piece of material in th eir own l anguage, or pi ctur es. They can fi nd leaflets that interest or surprise them. They could also brin g in an object they wi sh to t alk about: unusual food/plants; their favourite th in gs. Phot ographs from participant s can pro vide a very interesting way for them to share their experiences with other members of the group. Most participants in European youth work contexts enjoy sharing information brought w ith th em about their organisations or roles. Materials brought in could be displayed as an exhibition in the form of an information market. The range of tasks whi ch can be generated by learners’ materials is infi ni te.

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4.2.2 M aterials fr om t elevision There are many programmes on television wh ich lend t hemselves to being u sed as material to sti mu late task-b ased learnin g. Early language learners in particular are provided with plenty of visual material which helps them t o un derstand. Programmes which provide an insight into ordinary li fe, which is difficult to capture fully in other ways, are particularly popular with learners. One category of t elevision programme which is generally found in all countries, is soap opera. Although the characters and situ ations are oft en exaggerated and based on stereotypes, they do portray everyday life and can provoke much intercultural discussion.

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After w atchi ng such programmes participants could perform a short scene from their own soap operas reflecting issues they believe are of comm on concern. In Britain , pressure groups work alongside soap opera produ cers to pr ovi de realistic inpu t when a story -lin e deals wit h a topical and, possibl y sensit ive or contr oversial issue. Soaps can also be used for t hei r f un, acti on-packed elements: what’s going t o h appen n ext? What wou ld you have done in that sit uati on? What is your impression of h im/ her? What would have happened if…? Advertisements can be used with or without dialogue wi th a variety of l evels. They can be fun and although the images may be stereotypical, they can also be very revealing of a count ry’s cultu ral norms. Producin g an advertisement can be an excellent t ask i nvolvin g everyon e. Even a begin ner is able to mi me th e ecstasy which comes from using a certain shampoo or deodorant or driving a certain make of car! More advanced language learners can play about wit h t he language of hyperbole(hype), which i s so common i n t he world of adverti sing. Short news items provide excellent formal models. These are often self-contained and topic-based. There may be short reports of local int erest or something topi cal. News reports can be watched wit hout the sound for participants to guess th e inform ation, or put w ords in to m out hs by guessin g th e script . Facil it ators or l earners can w rit e shor t sum maries of items, whi ch can t hen be given t o other participants to match to th e item wh en they view the programme. Focussing on key vocabulary that helps learners to understand the gist of the news is a good way of facilitating learners’ general u nderstandi ng of th e language. News also expands the area of experience to a global platform , wh ich i s especially i nt eresti ng if an international event is in the news at the time. If a video camera is available, tasks can inclu de encouraging participants to create th eir own television news programmes to include common elements such as weather forecasts, polit ical it ems, sports it ems and so on. Extr acts from films are an i nt eresti ng way t o discuss issues from the standpoint of other people: for example, participants’ reactions to events in films, their opinions of characters’ behaviour and judgements, whether participants have had simi lar experiences and so on.


Detecti ve fi lm s can also create excitement and a whodun nit search for t he culpri t. Care shou ld be tak en, however, to choose th e ext ract carefu lly, to avoid learners becomin g overwhelmed with having to concentrate for a long tim e or if they are unable to follow the thread. Film extracts can also be watched withou t t he sound; dialogues can be written for the scenes. Participants can guess what was happening and make up their own version of events.

4.2.3 Pictu res There is such a huge variety of pictures that can be used for materials that it is difficult to suggest usages wit hou t categorising pi ctu res. For exampl e, pict ur es of people coul d be used to imagine different life-styles; what the people may be thinking/feeling; what they are wearing/what effect this has on the person looking at the picture; what they might be sayi ng and so on. The person’s li fe story can be made up – this is especially fun with several people who can weave a web of relation shi ps and events! (See 3.2 Exploitation of a photograph.) Pict ur es can be u sed to descri be places, make suggestions or comments about places: pretend to be a tourist promoter and promote th e place. It cou ld b e som eone’s id eal pl ace to live. A photograph of a scene could be used to d escri be a place to som eone else, or t o pretend to write a postcard from this place. The picture could represent a problem; land use or abuse; a danger of some sort; the subject of a planning application and so on. A roleplay coul d t ake place based on t he pictu re as if it was bein g u sed as a piece of evi dence. For lower language levels, pictures can be displayed and on e can be descri bed for someone else to ident ify. A picture can be described for another person to draw and th en compare with the original. Learners can just point to their favourite pictu re, say why t hey li ke it, or say how it affects th em? Do t hey k now any sim il ar scenes? Pictures from catalogues can be used to m ake lists of items for sale to classify essential or lu xu ry it ems. Guessin g games about it ems and th eir pri ces can b e played i n a grou p. Shoppi ng catalogues can be used to select an appropriate gift for an imaginary person or relative, colleague, lover, fri end and so on wit h ju sti fi cation of why it was selected. Pictures can be

partially hidden and people can t ry t o fi gure out wh at th e pictu re is. Pictu res can b e used to bu ild up a lifestyl e for an im aginary person. (See Section 3.2 Expl oit ation of a phot ograph.) Magazineadvertisements are produ ced to be eye catching, appealing and often amusing; they can provide a light-hearted ‘look at pictu res’. Discussion s abou t advert isement s, their effect on the reader, the use of puns and colloqu ialisms can be very u seful. This wil l l ead to questions about t he message, and how effectively it i s conveyed. A popul ar task i s for participants to create their own advertisements. With lower language levels, advertisements provide an interesting ‘point and name’ session: Wh at is th is? How do t hey feel? Wh at are they saying? Enact a dialogue between characters in th e pictur es. Adverts can b e a useful stepping stone to intercultural considerations: how relevant are the adverts to different people? What do they reveal about the people they are aimed at? Wh at do t hey r eveal about consumerism? What are the reactions of different people to the adverts? Are the same adverts publ ished in v arious count ries? Advertisements for supermarkets and other stores can be used successfully with lower level learners as they provide good examples of everyday items and n um ber practi ce.

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It wil l b e clear from th e above ideas that access to pictures is an essential resource for facilitators and learners. It shou ld b e the aim of all facilitators and learners to build up a picture library for on-going use in TBLL.

4.2.4 Objects as m at erials A collection of it ems can be put in a basket or in the middle of the table and used to spur many fruitful activities. Participants choose an item and supply the information about where it comes from, what it’s made of, its value, what i t’s used for, why i t’s precious to that person, how they would feel if they lost it etc. Make an argum ent for th is object to be th e ‘best i nvention of th e 20th Century ’. Expl ain how this object was made. Is it unusual to you? Do you have these in your country? Is the name unusual? Could you live without it? Do you enjoy using it? Do you think it is useful? Useless? What do y ou carry around wi th you? What woul d you never be with out? And mu ch, mu ch more!

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4.2 .5 Leafl et s There is a plethora of possible tasks that can be generated by using materials in the form of l eafl ets. How ever, leaflet s may need selecting carefully to avoid overkill. ‘How to …’ leaflets always seems to be available to help people to do t hi ngs. Learners can consider th e effectiveness of these information providers: th ey can t ry and carry ou t t he task described. They can produce their own leaflets on anythi ng from: ‘How to surv ive in a new country ’ (see 3.1 Tasks from No Materials) to ‘How to make a cup of tea’. Authentic leaflets found locally provi de models for partici pants to use wh en creati ng t heir own l eafl ets. They can also be considered from a design point of view: how effectiv e is the leaflet? What effect d oes it have on you? What would you like to change? At a lower level, participants can collect leaflets and group them into categories: food/clothi ng/in formation etc. A task for t hem could be to establish in formation centr es wh ere parti cipants wander aroun d infor mation stalls asking for and giving information in leaflet form, which t hey have produced. Touri st leaflet s usually contain information about attractions with directions, opening times, costs and so on. Partici pants coul d plan a visit and telepho ne to fi nd ou t specific i nformation such as group or student discounts etc. This could be a simu lated or real task.

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th e basis of tasks for th e grou p. If in t he target langu age, the ly ri cs can be used as an activi ty leadin g to a task evaluati ng th e power of word s in society, in advertising, propaganda and so on. Participants can reflect on the emotions sti rred by melodi es as part of a task, maki ng comparisons between different social or national grou ps. Pop songs can be used to lead into a task comparing incomes and the relative earni ngs of di fferent people in society – pop-stars are paid h andsomely – are th ey wort h it ? etc. With the consensus of participants, music of any kind can be used to provide background in the learning space while activities are in progress. Facil it ators can make audi o t apes of di fferent sounds and noises. Learners can identify the sounds and guess their provenance. Sound effects can be provided by learners to accompany any task which is in the form of a story or sketch. Participants could produce their own tapes of unusual or enjoyable/unpleasant sounds, which could be shared with the rest of the group. These could be used to reflect upon individual feelings and connecti ons between people’s home l ife and t hose of other countries as part of a task to generate in tercult ur al awareness. The sim ple comparison of anim al noises in a mul ti -cult ur al group is a fun way in t o int ercult ural activ iti es.

4.2.8 The lo cality of th e cou rse 4.2.6 Gam es Games provide excellent material for TBLL. Tasks could include inventing a game with rul es; explain i t t o oth ers and play it! Thi s could be a card game, a board game or an outdoor game. Creati ng a new game coul d be coll aborativ e, wit h one group starting it off th en passing it on t o another group, until a final product is produced by consensus (thi s could inv olve some heated negotiations!). Another task could be to attend a local sporting event and write a report of t he occasion, or t o carry ou t a survey of atti tu des to sport and games and th eir role in variou s societi es. There is endl ess potential for fun with games!

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The localit y i tself will provide plenty of material to be exploited to generate tasks. If the environment is foreign to l earners, intercult ural observation s can be made by comparisons with the locality and learners’ home contexts. (See 3.1 Tasks fr om No M aterials.) Local people can be used as a sour ce of aut hentic language input : they can be interviewed or ju st ob served! Local people may be wil li ng to come to talk to a group and provide some in put about t he locality. Participants can go ou t to visit t heir counterparts in th e host count ry. They can vi sit l ocal in stit ut ions of their choice such as the Poli ce, th e Town Hall , local pl aces of worshi p and so on.

4.2.7 Son gs and sou nd s

4.2.9 Info rm ation techno logy

Songs have always been used as a tool for language learnin g but h ere we offer some id eas for u sing songs in TBLL. Songs in any language can be brou ght in by parti cipants and u sed as

Both th e Int ernet and pu bli shed CD Roms can provide a wealth of on-going and authentic information for learners. The Internet in parti cular i s ideal for cou rses taking pl ace away


from t he target l anguage in th at it can provide im mediate access to auth entic m aterials. It is also a tool t hat parti cipants will be able to u se after the course, to continue their learning. As the Internet works for a global audience, this also raises interesting questions on globalisation and th e blur ring of cult ural identities. Participants can use it to focus on different in terest grou ps across th e worl d. Learn ers can be encouraged to complete tasks using

information from t he Internet as th eir source material. They can use it to provi de their own information to share with other participants. They could take part in on-line discussions vi a chat roo ms. They can u se e-m ails as practice for correspondence and to widen their communication skills. When it is possible to establi sh a work in g websit e, participants fi nd it u seful to continue their links with the group and conti nu e to share ideas, or to w ork on contin uin g projects.

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5. DIY Section Methodology in language learning T-Kit

5.1 Introduction The growth of DIY or Do It Yourself came about in Britain for two reasons. Firstly, from the 1950s onwards, people began to have more leisure time and chose to spend it improving th eir hom es and gardens. This growth in DIY hom e maint enance served to giv e credence to the well-known adage that ‘an Engli shma n’s hom e is hi s castl e ’. The second r eason for th e growth of DI Y was that i t became increasingly more diffi cult and increasingly more expensive to find and hire skilled or even unskilled workers to carry out the painting, decorating and general renovating tasks necessary for h ome maintenance and improvement. So th ere was a boom in DIY wi th every h omeowner becoming an expert and DIY centres stocked wit h all th e necessary t ools and m aterials for any job, large or small. In addition, th ese cent res provid e experti se in t he form of kn owledgeable sales people and leaflets explain ing how to tackle the job with handy hints and easy to follow diagrams. Furniture is sold in ki t for m and all you have to do i s assemble and paint it. The concept of a DIY section in this publicati on w as born out of t hese practices. We have given you the tools and materials, we have shown you some examples wit h step-by-step instructions and now you can be a ’creative expert’ y our self! We offer you a workshop in DIY language teaching. We are providing authentic materi als and suggest som e tasks you can develop using these materials. You should follow the

same standard form at whi ch is used thr ough out this publication. You will find a blank planning sheet overleaf to help you. Think about y our learners and pl an accordingly. The fi rst piece of material we have selected for th is DIY section is taken from a Eur opean Yout h Foundation Application Form for fu ndin g. The material is authentic and we feel it could generate some very auth entic t asks. When you have worked through the format, using activ it ies to lead up t o a successful realisation of the chosen task, you can turn to Appendi x 3 Feedback. Here you will fin d how we approached th e material. You wi ll see th e tasks we chose and t he acti vit ies leading to t he task. The second piece of material is a general interest newspaper arti cle, wit h ph otograph, wh ich we think is fun and lends itself to extensive exploitation. In the Feedback Section we offer ‘101 ways to make the most of w hat you ’ve got!’ We hope you will be able to u se the suggesti ons and adapt them from any m aterials (text, photogr aph, objects etc.) which y ou choose to u se. In both cases you may find you have done something simil ar or something enti rely different . Don’t worr y! Whatever you have done, if y ou feel it i s sui table, it wil l be OK. There is no righ t or w rong – you are the expert n ow! Our approaches will give you something to measur e your own wor k against. If you wou ld li ke m ore personal feedback, you can contact us on t he websit e address and we wil l b e glad to h ave a chat. Enjoy y our DIY facili tating!

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5.4 Materials exploitation

101 w ays to m ake th e most o f w h at y o u ’ ve g o t ! Materials can and should be exploited endlessly. Below are some of the ways we’ve used, or seen used, or heard about or dreamt about. The list is not definitive or finite! Although these suggestions were produced

to go with the ‘Leaping Lettuce’(from “The Daily Mail”, Thursday, October 1,1998), most of them can be applied to other materials such as photographs, video and so on. Be imaginative and have fun!

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a. Gener al use • Pictures first to elicit content/headlines for • •

• • • •

prediction/setting scene activities Selected vocabulary for u nderstandi ng Text chopped up for jig-saw activities: detailed study of small sections indi vidu ally, in pairs or groups, with help as necessary from th e facilitator – th en ’expert’ students explain their bit to the rest of the group (including pronunciation featu res and cultural references) underlin e words containi ng the sound / / (choose one!) mark sent ence str ess as preparati on fo r r eading aloud Awareness of text style (which words or expressions show formality/informality?) Topic used for discussion /reacti on

b. Langu age aw areness • Question forms – students make questions • • • • • • • •

about part or all of the text, to be used as stu dent-generated comprehension check Identify tense usage. Consider form and function Underline all irregular verbs Identify passive forms – can they be made acti ve? Wh ich i s bett er and w hy? Identi fy di rect speech and change into in direct speech – focus on good reporti ng word s, summary reported speech etc. Identify indi rect speech and put int o direct speech (could be basis for role-play) Reflect on use of articles Reflect on use of prepositions/ expressions wit h dependent prepositi ons Fin d ph rasal verbs and i diom atic language

c. Lexical d evelopm ent • Identi fy w ords and chu nk s of l anguage spe• 5

• • •

cific to topic Word sets according to suitable criteria (depending on level/type of learners etc.) Beyond elementary level, learners can choose own cl assification s e.g. wor ds related to emotions/food/r elati onships etc. Find rhyming words! (also under pronunciation) Find x nu mber of words you don’t k now (set a limit per stu dent) and find out m eaning Lists (see writing)

d. Skills developm ent Reading • Skimming and scanning exercises. (Tell me in 10 seconds what t hi s text is about ) (How

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many tim es can you fi nd t he word ’lettuce’ in the text? – 30 seconds!) Find th e word ………. Prepared reading aloud of small section of text (unprepared i s always pain ful !)

Writing • Letters, memos, postcards, reports generated by the situation – endless possibi lities and f un! • Dialogue or small sketch based on text situation , wh ich can th en be enacted • Sum mary of t ext in one/tw o sentences • Change styl e – from form al /in formal, tabloid /b roadsheet, newspaper/r adio bull eti n, etc • Advanced learners re-write for elementary learners (good challenge) • Make li sts inspired by t ext (related to lexical exploitation) • Dictation (facilitator or learner can do the dictating!) • Write a report of t he incident for t he Health and Safety Officer

e. Listen ing /Speak ing • • • • • •

Role-play/Sit uati onal sketches Telephone calls Discussions/reactions/issues arising Intercultu ral comparisons Focus on pronu nciation: indi vidu al sounds, word stress, sentence stress etc Imagined extension situations – what happens next?

f. Cultu ral and intercultural aw areness • Find culturally specific references e.g • • • • •

‘Sainsbury’s’; flowers as a peace-offering etc. Eating habit s, fresh/ pre-packed food; h ome produced/imported products; who shops/ plans/pr epares meals etc. Cultural connotations e.g. frog/toad! Extent of shock/horr or/repulsion to various creatures Phobias Other intercultural issues e.g. fairy-tale/folk/ magic connotati ons (th e frog prince!)

g. Other activ ities • Surveys e.g. supermarket shelves, leading to

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worl d-map display of where food is import ed from – good if learners collect labels/other packaging for display Wall -displays of all sorts Project on morality/ desirability of in ternational trade/globalisation etc Etc, etc, etc ………………..

Appendix 1 Methodology in language learning T-Kit

Methodology in language learning T-Kit – Evaluation form We hope you have found t hi s first version of t he M ethodology in lan guage learn in g T-Kit helpful and useful. This is the first time that such a publication has been produced within the Partnership Programm e and we wou ld w elcome your feedback and suggestion s for f ut ur e edit ions. Your answers will also be used to analyse the impact of t hi s publi cati on. Thank you for com pletin g thi s questionnaire, your comments will be read wit h great attenti on. You are… (You may tick more than one option) 





A Teacher 

With mult icultural groups,



With monocultu ral groups

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In int ernational youth programmes

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In a language school



With monocultu ral groups

A Trainer / language facilit ator 

With mult icultural groups,



With individuals

Non e of t he above – Please specify

.................................................................................................................................................

1 - How far did this T-Kit help you to find theoretical foundations and practical applications of language learning methodologies?

From 0% ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 2 - Did you use the T-kit for any of your language courses activities?

Yes



to 100% No



If yes… In what context or situation?

.........................................................................................................................................................................

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In whi ch setti ng? (mult icult ural groups, monocult ural groups, language school …) ......................................... ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Whi ch i deas did you use or adapt? ........................................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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3 - What was the main difficulty to adapt the methodology to your own context and language? ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

In what situation?

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In whi ch setti ng? (mult icult ural groups, monocult ural groups, language school …) ......................................... ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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References and further reading Theory of langu age teaching and learning

Piaget, J. (1926) The Lan guage and Thought of the Chil d . New York: Harcourt Brace.

Asher, James J. (1977) Learning Another Language Through Acti ons : The Com plete Teachers’ Gui debook. Los Gatos, California: Sky Oaks Productions.

Wrigh t, Tony (1987) Roles of Teachers & Lear ners. Oxford: Oxford University Press

Wilkins D.A. (1976) Noti onal Syllabuses: A Taxonom y and Its Relevance to Foreign La ngu age Cur r i culu m Development. Oxford: Oxford University Press Gattegno, C. (1972) Teachin g Forei gn La ngu ages i n Schools: The Si lent Way . 2nd ed. New York: Educational Solutions. Gattegno, C. (1976) The Common Sense of Teaching Foreign Languages . New York: Educational Solutions. Bates, E. (1979) The Emergence of Symboli sm : Cogniti on and Communi cation in infancy . New York: Academic Press. Bickerton, D. (1984) The Language Bioprogram . Behavioural and Brain Scien ces, 7, 173 – 2 21. Chomsky, Noam (1965) Aspects of th e Theor y of Synta x, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Gleason, J.B. and Ratner, N.B. (eds.) (1998) Psycholinguistics, New York : Harcourt Brace. Goldin – Meadow, S. and Mylander (1990) Beyond t he Inp ut Gi ven : The Chi ld ’s Role i n the Acqui siti on of Lan guage , The Jou rn al of Language, 66:323 – 35 5. Harmer, J. (1996) ’Is PPP Dead ?’ Modern English Teacher. Vol.5 No.2 7 – 1 4. Hedge, T. & Whitney, N. (eds.) (1996) Power, Peda gogy & Pr acti ce . Oxford: Oxford University Press Freire, Paulo (1972) Pedagogy of the Op pr essed . Harmonsdworth , England: Penguin Books

Wenden, A. & Rubin, J. (1987) Learn er Strategies in Lan guage Learn in g . Cambridge: Prentice-Hall International Engl ish Langu age Teachin g. Willis, J. (1996) A Fram ework for Task-Based L ear ni ng . Harlow: Addi son Wesley Longm an.

Practical exam ples and support for facilitators The sector of teachi ng Engl i sh as a Foreign Lan guage is well establi shed an d there is a wealth of publ ished m ateri als in the form of cour se- books, suppl ementar y materi als and gram mar book s – al l a t va r i ou s levels. H ow ever, the best materi als are those created a nd tai lored for the needs and i nterests of specific grou ps and thi s i s wh at w e hope users of thi s T-Ki t wi ll be able to do. But w e all need i nspir ati on to start us off! The books below shoul d provi de thi s as they gi ve many practical i deas which are in l in e wi th the appr oaches in this T-Ki t. M ost facili tators wil l pr obably al so feel th e need f or a good reference gramm ar just for their own secur i ty, together wi th a good lear ners’ diction ar y whi ch contai ns a wealth of inform ation. All m ajor publishers produce gramm ar books and di ctionar ies and it i s up t o the ind ivi du al to choose one that sui ts their own pur poses an d cogni ti ve styl e. Bartr am, M. & Walt on, R. (1991) Cor recti on – A Posi ti ve Appr oach to Lan guage Mistakes , Hove: Language Teachi ng Publ ications. Davis, P. & Rinvolucri, M. (1990) The Confidence Book – Bui ld in g Tru st i n t he Language classroom , Harlow: Longman Group UK Limited. Deller, S. (1990) Lesson s fr om t he Lear ner – Stu dent -gene- ra ted Activi ti es for the Langua ge Classroom , Harlow: Longman Group UK Limited.

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Lewi s, M . and Hi ll , J. (1992) Practi cal Techni ques For Lan gua ge Teachin g , Hove: Language Teaching Publications. Lind str om berg, S. (ed.) (1990) The Recipe Book – Practi cal I deas for the Language Classroom, Harlow: Longman Group UK Limited. M arsland , B. (1998 ) Lessons from Nothi ng , Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Oth er publications from th e Directo rate of Yout h and Sport

Joh n Waterm an and Joh n O’Regan (1999) Informa tion an d communi cation technology in language lear ni ng , (Language course tool box, no. 10). Strasbourg: Council of Europe, Youth Directorate. DJ/Langue(99)1 Joh n Waterm an and Joh n O’Regan (1999) Task based learn in g in la ngua ge learn in g , (Language course tool box, no. 11). Strasbou rg: Council of Europe, Youth Directorate. DJ/Langue(99)2

Joh n O’Regan and Rose Clark (1996) Texts as a cultural resource in language learning , (Language cour se tool box, no. 2). Strasbourg: Council of Europe, Youth Dir ectorate. CEJ/ Langue(96)4

Esth er H ookway (1999) Language course preparation and pro- gram me design , (Language course tool box, no. 12). Strasbourg: Council of Europe, Youth Directorate. DJ/Langue(99)3

Nick Andon and Rose Clark (1996) Usin g the commu ni ty as a resour ce in lan - guage learning , (Language course tool box, no. 3). Str asbou rg: Council of Europe, Yout h Dir ectorate. CEJ/ Langue(96)5

Sandrine Deguent (1999) L’apprentissage des langues en petits groupes , (Stages de langue boîte à outils , no. 13). Strasbourg: Conseil de l’Europe, Di recti on de la jeun esse. DJ/ Langue(99)4

Geneviève Koechli n, Paolo Stratta, Marie Ti kov a (1996) The use of Drama in language courses , (Language course tool box, no. 4). Strasbourg: Council of Europe, Youth Director ate. C EJ/ Langue(96)6Eng

Philip Curran, Rainer Eberhardt, Yvonne Le Goïc, Esth er Hook way, Heath er Mi lett o, John O’Regan, Odile Raffner, Paolo Stratta, Carla Van der Straeten, (1997) Lear ni ng a language differently : 30 years of EYC experi ence . Strasbourg: Council of Europe, Youth Directorate.

Günter Waldeck, Philip Curran, Dara Hogan (1996) Using songs in language learning , (Language course tool box, no. 6). Strasbourg: Council of Europe, Youth Directorate. CEJ/Langue(96)8

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Paola Stratta (1998) Glossar y (youth wor k) French, Ita li an , Germ an , English, Spanish, Portuguese , (Language course tool box, no. 9). Str asbou rg: Coun cil of Europe, Youth Directorate. DJ/Langue(98)2

Heather M iletto and Phil ip Curr an (1996) Lear ni ng to lear n , (Language course tool box, no. 1). Str asbou rg: Coun cil of Europ e, Youth Directorate. CEJ/Langue(96)3

Mi chael Berman (1996) Gui ded visual isations for English language teaching , (Language course tool box, no. 5). Strasbourg: Council of Europe, Youth Dir ectorate. CEJ/ Langue(96)7

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Mu riel Mol iné (1996) At eli er d’é cr i tu r e , (Stages de langue boîte à outi ls, no. 7). Strasbou rg: Conseil de l’Eur ope, Di recti on de la jeu nesse. CEJ/ Langue(96)9

Philip Curran, Rainer Eberhardt,Yvonne Le Goïc, Esth er Hook way, Heath er Mi lett o, John O’Regan, Odile Raffner, Paolo Stratta, Carla Van der Straeten, (1997) Appr end re un e lan gue di ffé remm ent : 30 an n é es d ’expé r i ence du CEJ . Strasbourg : Conseil de l’Europe, Directi on de la jeunesse. CEJ/ TC ICLL (1998) Report of the traini ng on i ntercultural language learning 1998. Strasbour g: Council of Eur ope


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y n a e v l o s e r o t t x e t e h t o t r e f e r d l u o h s y e h T . I I n o i t c e s n i s a e d i n i a m e h t t u o p a m d n a s e t o n e r a p m o c s r e n r a e l , s p u o r g - b u s n I

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N O I T A R A P E R P K S A T

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. n o i s s u c s i d e h t f o s t n e m e l e n i a m e h t f o y r a m m u s a s t n e s e r p p u o r g - b u s h c a e m o r f n o s r e p s e k o p s a e r e h w , p u o r g n i a m e h t o t n r u t e R •

h t u o y r i e h t n i s e i t i v i t c a e h t t u o b a r e h t o h c a e l l e t d n a s p u o r g - b u s m r o f o t s t n a p i c i t r a p k s A •

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d e c n a v d A : l e v e L u o r G e z S i y n A : p s m y n o n y s f o s e i r a n o i t c i d ; s n o i t i n fi e d f o s e i r a n o i t c i d ; y r e n o i t a S t : l a i r e t a M r e h t O . m r o F n o i t a c i l p p A d n a A - I I d n a - I s n o i t c e S F ’ Y E e h t m o r f t n a r G a r o f y l p p A o t w o H ‘ f o s e i p o C : l a i r e t a M

s l e v e l r e w o l r o f t n e m u c o d e h t g n i y f i l p m i S : 1 k s a T

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. c t e , t s i l a g n i k a m , t n e m e e r g a - n o n / t n e m e e r g a , n o i t a i t o g e n , n o i s s u c s i d : s e i t i v i t c a n o i t a c i n u m m o C . ) x a t n y s f o y t i x e l p m o c , y r a l u b a c o v ( s l e v e l e g a u g n a l n e e w t e b s e c n e r e f f i d : s t n i o p e g a u g n a l t n a t r o p m I s t n e m m o C

. n o i s s e s s u o i v e r p a g n i r u d t c e j o r p a r e h t e g o t t u p e v a h l l i w s p u o r g r e w o l e h t t a h t s e m u s s a s i h T . t c e j o r p n a e p o r u E a r o f ’ e c n a t s i s s A l a i c n a n i F r o f m r o F n o i t a c i l p p A ‘ n a t u o l l i f o t ) p u o r g - b u s r o ( p u o r g r e w o l a f o r e b m e m a s p l e h p u o r g d e c n a v d a e h t f o r e b m e m h c a e , y l e v i t a n r e t l A • . s n o i t a n a l p x e r o f d e h c a o r p p a e b n a c p u o r g d e c n a v d a e h t f o

s r e b m e m t a h t t n e m m o c e h t h t i w s r e n r a e l l e v e l r e w o l o t n e v i g e b n a c t x e t n e t t i r w e h t , t r o h s s i e m i t f I • . n o i t - a c i f i r a l c r o f s t s e u q e r r e w s n a o t d e r a p e r p e b d n a k a e p s t s u m r e b - m e m h c a E . p u o r g - b u s l e v e l r e w o l a o t ’ t n a r g a r o f y l p p a o t w o H ‘ f o s n o i t c e s o w t t s r fi e h t s n i a l p x e p u o r g - b u s l e v e l - d e c n a v d a h c a E •

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. t x e t w e n e h t t u o e t i r w d l u o c y e h t , y l l a n o i t i d d A • . r a e l c n u s i g n i h t y n a f i r e h t o h c a e h t i w r e f n o c y a m s p u o r g - b u s e h T • . s n o i t s e u q y n a o t g n i y l p e r d n a s p u o r g ) l e v e l r e w o l ( t e g r a t e h t o t s n o i t c e s o w t e h t g n i t n e s e r p y a l p - e l o r y e h T •

. d n a t s r e d n u o t y s a e d n a e t e r c n o c , e l p m i s e b t s u m x a t n y s d n a y r a l u b a c o V . s l e v e l r e w o l t a s r e n r a e l y b d a e r e b o t s i t x e t r i e h t t a h t d n i m n i g n i r a e b , ’ t n a r g a r o f y l p p a o t w o H ‘ f o s n o i t c e s o w t t s r fi e h t d r o w - e r o t s a e d i n i a m f o t s i l l a n fi e h t e s u s p u o r g - b u s e h T •

N O I T A S I L A E R K S A T

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. a i r e t i r c e h t t fi s n a l p r i e h t t a h t k c e h c d l u o h s y e h t , n o i t c e s e h t g n i d a e r e l i h W • . s n a l p r i e h t y f i d o m o t d e g a r u o c n e e b d l u o h s y e h t , h t i w k r o w o t s r e n t r a p l a n o i t a n r e t n i d e fi i t n e d i t o n e v a h y e h t . e . i a i r - e t i r c e h t t fi t o n o d s n a l p r i e h t f o y n a f I • . m r o f n o i t a c i l p p a e h t n i l u f e s u e b l l i w h c i h w s e s a r h p n o g r a j d n a e g a u g n a l e h t h t i w r a i l i m a f e r a y e h t e r u s g n i k a m d n a F Y E e h t f o s t n e m e r i u q e r e h t t e e m s t n a p i c i t r a p e h t g n i p l e h n i l a t i v e b l l i w r o t a t i l i c a f e h t f o e l o r e h t , e g a t s s i h t t A • . y f e e h t y b d e c n a n fi e b d l u o c h c i h w s n o i t a r e p o : A I I t r a P

d a e r o t m e h t k s a , n o i t a m r o f n i t n e i c - fi f u s e v a h y e h t l e e f s t n a p i c i t r a p n e h W • . d e r i u q e r s i n o i t a m r o f n i f o t o l a s a , e g a t s s i h t r o f e m i t f o y t n e l p e v a e L • g n i t e e m f o n o i t a c o L , s t n e m e l e e m m a r g o r P , g n i t e e m f o s e t a D ? , s e g a u g n a l g n i k r o w

e h t e r a t a h W . s t n a p c i i t r a p f o e l fi o r p n o e d c i e D , t s ? o c l a t o t e h t t e e m u o y l l i w w o H , h ? t i w l a e d t i s e o d k r o w h t u o y f o a e r a t a h W , s ? e v i c t e j b o e h t e r a t a h W , s r e n t r a p y f i t n e d I , n o i t a s i n a g r o f o e l fi o r p n o e d c i e D

: n o i t a m r o f n i f o s a e r a g n i w o l l o f e h t e d u l c n i o t s n o i t a c i l p p a r i e h t n a l p d n a s p u o r g - b u s o t n i e d i v i d o t s t n a p - i c i t r a p k s a , m r o f e h t t u o g n i v i g e r o f e B • . d e t p a d a t u b , k r o w l a u t c a r i e h t n o d e s a b e b d l u o c s i h T . s g n i t e e m d n a s n o i t a s i n a g r o t n e v n i o t e v a h l l i w s t n a p i c i t r a p e h t , s n o i t a s - i n a g r o l a e r r i e h t n e e w t e b n o i t c e n n o c o n s i e r e h t f I . y l m o d n a r r o s n o i t a s i n a g r o r i e h t f o s e i t i r a l i m i s e h t o t g n i d r o c c a s p u o r g - b u s o t n i e d i v i d d l u o c s t n a p i c i t r a P • . d e d i v o r p m r o f n o i t a c i l p p a e h t d n a e v o b a s m i a e h t g n i s u g n i d n u f r o f n o i t a c i l p p a n a e r a p e r p o t g n i o g e r a y e h t s t n a p i c i t r a p e h t l l e T •


. s t n a p i c i t r a p e h t f o t s e r e h t o t r e t s o p r i e h t s t n e s e r p n e h t p u o r g h c a E • . n o i t a c i l p p a n a g n i k a m r o f y r a s s e c e n y r a l u b a c o v e h t e d i v o r p d n a t i c i l E • . t x e t e h t n i s e n o e h t h c t a m s m i a r i e h t f i e e s o t I t r a P t x e t e h t d a e r s t n a p i c i t r a P • . r e p a p e h t n o s t n i o p t e l l u b n i s e s a r h p d n a s d r o w y e k s e t i r w d n a F Y E e h t f o e s o p r u p d n a s m i a e h t s m r o t s n i a r b p u o r g h c a E •

. s r e t s o p r e h t o e h t e d i s g n o l a , n o i t a m r o f n i l u f - e s u y a l p s i d d n a e t i r w n a c r o t a t i l i c a F • . s p i t d n a s e c n e i r e p x e e r a h s ; g n i d n u f r o f y l p p a o t w o h f o e g d e l w o n k ’ s t n a p i c i t r a p m r o t s n i a r b , p u o r g a s A • . s n e p d e r u o l o c k c i h t d n a r e p a p f o e c e i p e g r a l a p u o r g h c a e e v i g d n a r u o f r o e e r h t f o s p u o r g - b u s o t n i s t n a p i c i t r a p e h t e d i v i D •

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+ e t a i d e m r e t n I : l e v e L e z S i y n A : p u o r G y r e n o i t a S t : l a i r e t a M r e h t O . m r o f n o i t a c i l p p a d n a A - I I d n a - I s n o i t c e S F ’ Y E e h t m o r f t n a r g a r o f y l p p a o t w o H ’ f o s e i p o C : l a i r e t a M

g n i t e e m h t u o y l a n o i t a n r e t n i n a r o f g n i d n u f r o f n o i t a c i l p p a n e t t i r w a g n i k a M : 2 k s a T

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. d e p a t o e d i v e b o s l a d l u o c s n o i t a t n e s e r p e h T • . d i b t s e b e h t r o f e t o v n a c p u o r g e l o h w e h t d n a n e t s i l n e h t n a c s p u o r g r e h t o e h T P . H O n a g n i s u y l b i s s o p – s n a l p r i e h t f o n o i t a t n e s e r p a e v i g n a c p u o r g h c a e , s m r o f s ’ r e h t o h c a e d a e r / d e y a l p - s i d d n a s m r o f n o i t a c i l p p a r i e h t n i d e l l fi e v a h s t n a p i c i t r a p e h t e c n O . g n i d n u f r o f d i b a f o n o i t a t - n e s e r p a g n i k a m e b d l u o w m r o f n o i t a c i l p p a e h t f o n o i t e l p m o c e h t w o l l o f d l u o c h c i h w k s a t A • s t n e m m o C

. y r a s - s e c e n e r e h w s e g n a h c t s e g g u s o t d e t i v n i e b d l u o c s t n a p i c i t r a P . d e y a l p s i d e b n a c e s e h T . r o t a t i l i c a f e h t y b d e t h g i l h g i h e b n a c s e l p - m a x e d o o g d n a s n r e c n o c e g a u g n a l n o m m o c y n a t n i o p s i h t t A •

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. m r o f n o i t a c - i l p p a t f a r d a n i l l fi s t n a p i c i t r a P ) . w o l e b , s t n e m m o c e e S ( . n o i t a r a p e r p k s a t e h t m o r f s e t o n

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e m a s e h t g n i s u y l l a u d i v i d n i k r o w r o m r o f n o i t a c i l p p a e h t f o n o i s r e v d e g r a l n e n a n i l l fi d n a s p u o r g r i e h t n i y a t s n a c s t n a p i c i t r a P •


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e m m a r g o r p e h t s i t a h W ? y h W ? r o f o h W ? e r e h W ? n e h W ? t a h W . n o i t - a s i n a g r o s i h t y b t u o d e i r r a c e b o t ) c t e , t i s i v , e s r u o c g n i n i a r t , g n i t e e m ( t c e j o r p e t e r c n o c a e s i v e d d l u o h s s t n a p i c i t r a p , d e fi i t n e d i y l r a e l c n e e b s a h n o i t a s i n a g r o e h t e c n O •

. ) ? t e n r e t n I ? s e i p o c r e p a p ( d e t a n i m e s s i d e b d l u o h s t i w o h d n a m r o f e h t f o n o i t a t n e s e r p e h t n o e d i c e d y e h T • . s t n a p i c i t r a p t c e l e s o t d e d e e n n o i t a m r o f n i e h t h t i w m e h t e d i v o r p o t d e k s a e b o t e v a h d l u o w h c i h w s n o i t s e u q e h t p u k n i h t y e h t , a i r e t i r c e s e h t f o s i s a b e h t n O •

? r e r u s a e r t ? y r a t e r c e s ? r i a h c : r e b - m e m h c a e f o s e i t i l i b i s n o p s e r e h t n o r e h t e g o t e d i c e d o s l a d l u o h s y e h T . c t E ? s d o h t e m g n i t a r e p o l a r e n e G ? s e i t i v i t c A ? s m i A ? s r e b m e M ? e m a N : n o i t a s i n a g r o s u o i t i t - c fi a s e t a e r c p u o r g h c a E . 5 r o 4 f o s p u o r g o t n i t i l p s e r a s t n a p i c i t r a P

. ) s m i a s ’ n o i t a s i n a g r o e h t h t i w e n i l n i ( t c e j o r p s i h t r o f a i r e t i r c n o i t c e l e s n o i t a p i c i t r a p e h t n o e d i c e d y e h T • . c t E ? s e s n e p x e s d r a w o t n o i t u b i r t n o C ? ) s m r e t l a r e n e g n i (

•


. e c u d o r p o t g n i o g e r a y e h t t a h w s i s i h t t a h t m e h t l l e t d n a s i h t n o s u c o F . t c e j o r p a n i n o i t a p i c i t r a p r o f s m r o f n o i t a c i l p p a n o i t n e m d l u o h s e n o e m o s , y l l a c i g o L ? k r o w h t u o y f o t x e t n o c e h t n i y l l a c fi i c e p s e r o m d n a l a r e n e g n i – e r e h t e r a m r o f f o s e p y t r e h t o t a h w : g n i m r o t s n i a r B •

. t i e t e l p m o c o t e l b a e b o t r e d r o n i d e r i u q e r s i n o i t a m r o f n i t a h w d n a t u o b a s i t i t a h w n i a l p x e o t s t n a p - i c i t r a p k s a d n a g n i t e e m F Y E n a r o f e c n a t s i s s a l a i c n a n fi r o f m r o f n o i t a c i l p p a e h t f o s e i p o c e t u b i r t s i D •

K S A T E R P

+ e t a i d e m r e t n I : l e v e L y n A : p u o r G i r e t a M r e h t O y r e n o i t a S t : l a m r o f n o i t a c i l p p a d n a A - I I d n a - I s n o i t c e S F ’ Y E e h t m o r f t n a r g a r o f y l p p a o t w o H ‘ f o s e i p o C : l a i r e t a M

g n i t e e m h t u o y a n i n o i t a p c i i t r a p r o f m r o f n o i t a c i l p p a n a g n c i u d o r P : 3 k s a T

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. c t e , g n i s i t r e v d a , g n i t e k r a m , n o i s a u s r e p : s e i t i v i t c a n o i t a c i n u m m o C . d e b i r c s e d e b d l u o h s s e i t i l i b i s n o p s e r s ’ n o s r e p h c a e ; y l e s i c e r p d e t a l u m r o f e b d l u o h s s n o i t s e u q ; t c e r r o c y l l a c i t a m m a r g g n i e b t x e t e h t n o t s i s n i n a c r o t a t i l i c a f e h t k s a t e h t g n i r a p e r p s i p u o r g d e c n a v d a e h t n e h w : s t n i o p c i t s i u g n i l t n a t r o p m I s t n e m m o C

. ’ s e t a d i d n a c ‘ s a g n i t c a s t n a p i c i t r a p l e v e l r e w o l h t i w t u o d e i r r a c e b y l b i s s o p d l u o c e g a t s s i h T . d e t p e c c a e b l l i w o h w r e h t e g o t e d i c e d ’ s r e s i n a g r o t c e j o r p ‘ e h t e r a o h w s t n a p i c i t r a p e h T . t i e t e l p - m o c d n a ) ’ s r e s i n a g r o ‘ e h t m o r f a i r e t i r c n o i t c e l e s e h t t u o b a e r o m t u o d n fi o s l a n a c y e h t ( m r o f a r o f k s a , t s o m m e h t o t s l a e p p a h c i h w t c e j o r p e h t e s o o h c s t n a p i c - i t r a P . ) c t e , e t i s t e n r e t n I , s t r e v d a o i d a r , s r e t s o p , s t e fl a e l a i v t i g n i t o m o r p y b

y l b i s s o p , t i l l e s o t g n i y r t ( y l l a r o t c e j o r p s t i s t n e s e r p p u o r g h c a e : m u r o f e h T • . m e h t n o s t n e m m o c d n a d e c u d o r p s m r o f t n e r e f f i d e h t s e e s t n a p i c i t r a p h c a E •

K S A T T S O P

. e l c i t r a e n i u n e g e h t o t e l b i s s o p s a e s o l c s a s i h c i h w t n e m u c o d a e c u d o r p n a c y e h t t a h t o s s n o i t c e r r o c t s e g g u s d n a s t n a p i c i t r a p e h t o t e c i v d a r e f f o d l u o h s r o t a t i l i c a f e h t , k s a t n e t t i r w a s i s i h t s A . m r o f e h t e t a r t s u l l i d n a e c u d o r p , t f a r d s t n a p i c i t r a P


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The authors of the Methodology in Language Learning T-Kit: Philip Curran (editing, proof-reading, writing) is Principal and co-founder of Edwards Language School, London. He is an experi enced t eacher and is also a freelance composer. phili pcurr an@bti nt ernet.com Sandrine Deguent (writing) teaches French as a foreign l anguage, is a freelance tr ainer i n non-formal educational contexts, is a specialist in suggestopedia and intercultural learni ng approaches applied to language learni ng. [email protected] Sian Williams Lund (writing) has an M .A. in Appli ed Lingui sti cs and i s Assistant Di rector, Edwards Language School, London. She has several years teaching experience in the UK, Denmark and China. Professional interests inclu de: intercultu ral learnin g, language acqui siti on and psycholin guistics, learner aut onomy and m aterial design. Heather Miletto (writing) is an experienced teacher and tr ainer as well as being a freelan ce lectur er and w rit er. She was co-founder of Edwards Language School and Centre for Intercultu ral Learnin g in London. [email protected] Carla Van der Straeten (writing) is an experienced French and Flemish teacher at the “Chambre des Représentants du Parlement Fédéral” in Belgium. She is also responsible for educational and language training at the “Centre d’Animation en Langues”, Bruxelles. [email protected]

… and the following persons havealso contributed to the elaboration of this T-Kit:

John O’Regan is a Senior Lecturer in the International Centre for English Language Studies at Oxford Brookes University, UK; specialising in Engli sh for Academic Pur poses and Critical Discourse Analysis. For many years he work ed as a trainer and con sul tant in intercultural l earning and i nternational education. John Waterman is now a Commi ssioni ng Editor of English Language Teaching materials for a publishing company. Interests in using technologies to promote learning and teaching, in tercul tu ral learnin g, and readin g. He was for many moons a teacher, teacher trainer and consultant in language teaching and intercultu ral learnin g thr ough language. Esther Hookway is a comm un ication s person with her own company called ReadyWriters which does editorial, writing and design and layout . She was th e co-ordi nator of Lingua Franca, a language and leadership training project in Central and Eastern Europe set up in 1991 by the European branch of the World Stu dent Chr istian Federation and th e Ecum enical Yout h Council in Eur ope. She is now working as Administrator at a newly established Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies in Cambridge.

For further information, or if you have any comments, feel free to contact the authors of the T-Kit.

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The T-kit series – year 2000 (available i n Eng lish and French) T-kit 1: Organisational Management T-kit 2: Methodology in Language Learning T-kit 3: Intercultural Learning T-kit 4: Project Management

Plan ned for the year 2 001 : (provisi ona l ti tles) T-kit 5: How to organise a Training Course T-kit 6: Voluntary Service T-kit 7: Citizenship Education

Int ernet versions can be foun d on www.training-youth.net

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Methodology in Language Learning

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