UNIT 4 your beliefs about language,learning teaching

This framework is modified by Graves 2000 which proposes that we need to address the concepts of: - Your view of language - Your view of the social context of language - Your view of le

YOUR BELIEFS

ABOUT LANGUAGE,

LEARNING AND

TEACHING

Theories

LANGUAGE COURSE

WHO? WHY?

WHERE? WHEN?

Needs Analysis

Nature of particular target and learning situation

ARTICULATING BELIEFS

 The complex nature of beliefs and understandings provides a teacher guidance in his/her decisions

 However, beliefs are not

necessarily something that

teachers can easily articulate or

are completely aware of (Johnson 1998).

ARTICULATING BELIEFS (cont.)

need to look at your past experience and the beliefs about learning and teaching that grow out of and guide that experience

teacher, as a colleague – provide the basis for your understanding of how languages are

taught and learned and the beliefs that guide your choices.

ARTICULATING BELIEFS (cont.)

multiple justifications and multiple

answers for the questions arising during

the process of course design, depending on the context, on the teacher’s experience

and his beliefs and understanding

ARTICULATING BELIEFS (cont.)

necessarily better, and that course designer must have confidence in his principles and experience to make choices and decisions.

ARTICULATING BELIEFS (cont.)

is Stern’s in “Fundamental Concepts of

Language Teaching”(1983) and “Issues and Options in Language Teaching” (1992) This framework is modified by Graves (2000)

which proposes that we need to address the concepts of:

- Your view of language

- Your view of the social context of language

- Your view of learning and learners

- Your view of teaching

ARTICULATING BELIEFS (cont.)

BELIEFS ABOUT LANGUAGE Questions:

- What language is?

- What being proficient in a language means?

- What you teach and how you teach it?

The answers to these questions can be different

BELIEFS ABOUT LANGUAGE (cont.)

BELIEFS ABOUT LANGUAGE (cont.)

(Canale and Swain 1980, Omaggio Hadley 1993)

Being proficient in a language =

Communicative competence (grammatical, sociolinguistic,

discourse and strategic

competences)

ARTICULATING BELIEFS (cont.)

 If you believe that language is a rule-governed system then

learning a language means

learning to use it accurately, with

no grammatical errors, which in turn leads to such class activities as: correcting errors in a letter.

ARTICULATING BELIEFS (cont.)

meaning-based then language teaching in class must

be meaningful and relevant to the students

in the class.

ARTICULATING BELIEFS (cont.)

DESCRIBING THE LANGUAGE

(Hutchinson &Water, 1993)

Language descriptions were bases on an analysis of the role played by each word

in the sentence The form of each word would change according to whether it

was a subject, object, indirect object and

so on.

The language is described in terms of

syntagmatic structures which carry the fundamental prepositions (statement,

interrogative, negative, imperative etc

 Transformational Generative (TG)

Grammar

The grammar of a language is not the surface structures themselves, but the rules that enable language users to

generate the surface structures from the deep level of meaning.

 Language variation and Register

as persuading, clarifying, apologizing…

There is more to meaning than just the words in the sentence The context of the

sentence is also important in creating the

meaning.

ARTICULATING BELIEFS (cont.)

BELIEFS ABOUT THE SOCIAL CONTEXT OF LANGUAGE

Stern (1983, 1992): Social context

encompasses sociolinguistic,

socio-cultural and sociopolitical issues.

with how language is adapted to fit (or not) the social context.

with how a language of one social

group (ethnic, gender) is viewed by

other social groups, access to language and services …

BELIEFS ABOUT THE SOCIAL CONTEXT OF

LANGUAGE (cont.)

the interaction between language and

culture, including social values (e.g gender differences), attitudes (e.g., towards roles

of men and women), norms (e.g., ways of eating and greeting), customs (e.g.,

marriage customs) and products (e.g.,

literature, art )

ARTICULATING BELIEFS (cont.)

BELIEFS ABOUT LEARNING AND LEARNERS

The fundamental issue around

learning is your view of how

people learn and the roles that enable them to learn.

 Regarding LEARNING PROCESS, there may be different views

BELIEFS ABOUT LEARNING AND LEARNERS (cont.)

BELIEFS ABOUT LEARNING AND LEARNERS (cont.)

2- Learning can be perceived as the process

of applying received knowledge – a

deductive process The learner is the

internalizer of knowledge.

3- Learning can be viewed as a cognitive

process, involving mental activities

BELIEFS ABOUT LEARNING AND LEARNERS (cont.)

affective process, involving

emotional connection and

risk-taking.

5- Learning can be viewed as a social process, involving learning with

others (Stevick, 1998)

6- Learning can be viewed as

involving different intelligences

such as visual, kinesthetic, auditory and so on (Gardner, 1983)

BELIEFS ABOUT LEARNING AND LEARNERS (cont.)

Regarding ROLES OF LEARNERS 1- Learning may depend on individual effort

in which the learner works alone;

2- Learning may depend on a group effort in which the learner may learn with or from

each other;

3- Learners may be the source of expertise or recipient of it;

4- Learners may be partners and the

decision-makers in the process or

subordinates.

BELIEFS ABOUT LEARNING AND LEARNERS (cont.)

Regarding LEARNING FOCUS:

knowledge, or mastering skills, or developing awareness, or learning about attitude.

using the language

meta-cognitive and critical thinking skills.

ARTICULATING BELIEFS (cont.)

Some questions about learning and learners: 1- Do learners learn better:

- when they can discover their own answers

or when they are given the correct answers?

challenged?

each others?

2- Is the learner an expert?

3- Is he a partner in the learning process?

ARTICULATING BELIEFS (cont.)

BELIEFS ABOUT TEACHING

Beliefs about teaching and the

role of teacher are connected to beliefs about learning However, sometimes what a teacher

actually does in his classroom

may contradict to what s/he

believes.

BELIEFS ABOUT TEACHING (cont.) Some questions about teaching and the role

of teacher:

1- Is the role of teacher the expert?

2- Is the role of teacher to provide answers

or is it to provide structures for finding

answers?

3- Does the teacher make all the decisions

or does she negotiate decisions with the learners?

4- Is the teacher a collaborator in students’ learning?

5- Is the teacher a learner?

The process of teaching can be viewed on a continuum

The teacher transmits knowledge to students

The teacher and students negotiate the knowledge and skills and methods of learning

The teacher makes decisions about knowledge and skills

to be learnt, tells students what to learn, or provides

models or examples and expects or helps students to

internalize them

The teaching process is viewed as providing

problem-solving activities and actively helping students to

negotiate them ; learning may be viewed as a process of shared decision making with students

The students determine the problems to be solved and use the teacher as a language and culture resource.

A FRAMEWORK FOR ARTICULATING

YOUR BELIEFS (SUMMARY)

1- YOUR VIEW OF LANGUAGE

For example:

language is rule-governed,

meaning-based, a means of expression, a means of learning about oneself and the world, a means of getting things done

self-A FRself-AMEWORK FOR self-ARTICULself-ATING

YOUR BELIEFS (SUMMARY)

2- YOUR VIEW OF THE SOCIAL CONTEXT OF LANGUAGE

For example:

The social context of language includes

sociolinguistic issues such as adapting

language to fit the context, socio-cultural issues such as cultural values and customs which may be in harmony with or in conflict with those of the learners’ culture, and

sociopolitical issues such as access to work and education.

A FRAMEWORK FOR ARTICULATING

YOUR BELIEFS (SUMMARY)

3- YOUR VIEW OF LEARNING AND LEARNERS For example:

learning occurs in community or individually; learning is the acquisition of knowlwdge and skills; learning is the development of meta- cognitive and critical thinking skills.

needs; learners receive knowledge or

construct knowledge; learners follow

directions or direct their own learning.

A FRAMEWORK FOR ARTICULATING

YOUR BELIEFS (SUMMARY)

4- YOUR VIEW OF TEACHING

For example:

management of learning, providing of

learning structure, a collaborative process.

knowledge transmitter, provider of

learning structures, collaborator, resource.