The Practice of Foreign Language Teaching

Wasyl Cajkler, Ron Addelman

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9781134104819
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

First Published in 2000. In an accessible style with examples of classroom practice, this book will help all those seeking guidance in successful modern language teaching. The book deals mainly, but not solely, with the teaching of modern foreign languages. When discussing behavioural problems, it is general teaching skills and not foreign language methodology which are to the fore. After the introduction the book is divided into seven sections. The section on pupils and teachers tackles general and modern languages issues from the perspectives of both learners and teachers, giving appropriate focus to their needs.

Section 1: Pupils and teachers

Chatper 1

Being a pupil

Attitudes and motivation

We deal with children constantly at work and in our, perhaps, rare leisure hours, yet it is not difficult to forget what it feels like to be a child. Childhood pleasures, joys, pains and fears are similar to, but not the same as, those we experience in adulthood. We do not have the right to expect children to have the same sense of urgency about learning anything in the school context as teachers have to teach it. Children’s attitudes to learning a foreign language, both positive and negative, are influenced by many factors: age, peer-group pressure, school ethos, home background attitudes, teachers’ skills, the strong feeling that ‘everyone’ abroad speaks English, experience of travel abroad, job ambitions. More important than even these factors is the feeling that modern languages are the most difficult subject in the curriculum, offering pupils an opportunity to fail, to feel inadequate, to get it wrong. This must inevitably damage the self-esteem of many pupils, who, as they enter their teenage years already experience self-doubt and do not want more problems in their lives than they already have. So languages teachers have a big task on their hands. The most realistic approach teachers can take with this range of positive and negative factors in mind is to ‘grow’ their own attitudes in class and in school, using themselves, their teaching and interpersonal skills as the fertiliser for the pupils’ desire to learn or to take part in the lesson. They should certainly not take it for granted that children will arrive in the classroom with a strong positive attitude to foreign language learning. It may even be helpful for teachers to adopt a critical attitude to the tasks and expectations they create in their classrooms: this may lead to a healthy questioning of the work they prepare and the schemes of work they follow.

It is possible to identify two basic types of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation comes from within the individual. It does not need external stimuli to provoke it. A learner, whether it is a child obsessed with the computer or a pure physicist, may delight in learning for learning’s sake. Many learners of all ages, however, need external stimuli, something or someone other than themselves to create the desire to learn or to work in any way. This is extrinsic motivation. It can be obtained by offering privileges, rewards, signs of approval, the promise (always fulfilled) of pleasant experiences. Bearing in mind the realism suggested above, it is wise to assume that the most prevalent type of motivation in the classroom will be extrinsic. This does not necessarily make the task of teaching a foreign language very difficult. Teaching is all about nurturing a culture which facilitates learning. It helps if one actually likes children; they can usually detect this and will, in many cases, work to please the teacher. Most children are motivated by their attitude to the teacher. They also have a need for fun and are easily bored. Younger pupils of both sexes can develop positive attitudes to foreign language learning if the experience is successful. Older pupils may consider that they are in school on sufferance; the older they get, the more they want to be out in what they consider the real world. Yet they can enjoy their work and even carry out tasks which may be considered in the cold light of day too young for them, if the relationship between pupils and teacher is right. Modern linguists often say theirs is one of the hardest subjects for which to create motivation. There is some truth in this, but we still have to find strategies to deal with this. The complex mixture of things which stimulate learning must lead to some ‘investment’ by pupils, no matter how modest.

Parental expectations can be a positive or a negative force in the child’s learning. An able child’s parents may have high expectations. In a mixed-ability class, teachers need to offer tasks which will meet such high expectations. Conversely, not all parents of children with learning difficulties encourage their children to learn or experience a foreign language.

Maslow’s (1954) hierarchy of human needs stresses the importance of self-esteem and the esteem of other people. Learners need to get meaningful feedback from their teachers. If their teacher shows recognition, values what they do, what they achieve, most pupils will try to earn it. Perhaps the most powerful motivator is self-esteem. A pupil who is given tasks to do that make her feel good about herself, will make good progress.

Implications for the classroom

Fun is obtained from:

• smiles,

• language games,

• competitions which anyone can win,

• competitions which the ‘best’ can win,

• friendly jokes and quips,

• puzzles,

• problems to solve,

• making things,

• moving about,

• the unexpected,

• the unpredictable,

• the privilege of relaxing now and then,

• success in learning.

Motivators include:

• some kind of reward (time out, a fun activity, a comic to read, etc.);

• praise by peers;

• genuine, warm praise by the teacher;

• a special visitor;

• an attempt to show that tasks are relevant;

• a clear understanding of what the task ahead is (notes, target sheets, verbal explanation, work schedules);

• success in learning.

Pupils should start on the path of foreign language learning as early as possible. Primary school experiences appear to have a long-lasting effect on boys and girls. They create good work habits. It is worth exploring the possibility of links with local primary schools. Consideration of the work in many parts of the country, where opportunities for pupils to make an early start to their modern language learning are offered, leads to a conviction that positive attitudes to language learning, whatever the language, are implanted by an early start in the environment to which pupils have become accustomed over a number of years: their first school. The rapidly increasing number of primary language schemes around the UK endorses this view.

Be positive and offer an opportunity for all to succeed at a level which they think is worthwhile. Lessons or tasks which are about failing run the risk of causing long-term damage: resentment, demotivation, fear of failure, refusal to cooperate and loss of pupils’ investment in their own learning.

Authentic materials and realia should be brought into the classroom where possible.

Native speakers are great motivators, particularly if pupils have prepared for the visit.

Create opportunities for other willing teachers to use the target language (the head teacher uses German in front of the whole school; a teacher comes into the classroom and speaks French).

Relationships

From the pupil’s viewpoint, being in a school is first and foremost a matter of relationships: pupil-pupil, pupil-teacher, pupil-others. Peer-group relationships in the language classroom are fascinating and far from straightforward. As in the world outside of school, the languages classroom may not be an easy place for girls to be in, though often they excel in language learning. In mixed-ability classes, girls are conscious of boys who tease them and may be less than willing to ‘perform’ in the languages lesson because of it.

Boys tend to hog the hardware, such as computers, unless the teacher takes steps to encourage the girls. Boys who want to practise, to speak, to answer a question, to try at their homework may be ridiculed openly or surreptitiously by other boys trying to create an aggressive, supposedly masculine image by deriding hard-working pupils as ‘keenoes’. Boys can also be attention-seeking and can dominate the classroom, even when the teacher thinks she is giving equal attention to girls and boys. Children can, however, be very community-conscious and tolerant. The able will help the less able; the class will support the pupil who has missed work through an absence; children spontaneously help each other with homework. Some teachers consciously establish a system of ‘study buddies’ to profit from this natural tendency in their pupils. By so doing they are merely formalising and approving what already happens. A study buddy must be trained to be sparing in her support in order to maintain the independence of the pupil assisted and to devote time to their own studies, which are, in fact, improved when they support a classmate. The best way to learn is to teach.

A language teacher most likely hopes to create a relaxed atmosphere in the classroom, one in which the pupils will be prepared to ‘perform’ if the class is engaged in oral work. This aim may be in conflict with the needs imposed by the discipline requirements of a particular group. The creation of an atmosphere of fear is not conducive to learning, though there is some evidence that some pressure can be formative, if it challenges pupils to reach their full potential. The role of the teacher will vary from that of authority figure to friend (but be careful!), to ‘expert’ to consultant, depending on the prevailing attitude in the group, the age of its members and the type of course which is being taught.

The picture of the world presented to learners should be a balanced one, so that stereotypes are avoided and all pupils are valued. Everyone needs to feel valued by others and OK about themselves. The teacher has a role in creating opportunities for both. It is a difficult area because it involves each pupil being given equal positive regard whatever their ethnic background, creed or colour. If they see a white middle-class world view dominating their activities, exercise books, textbooks, what message is this transmitting? What kind of motivation is it going to produce? It will certainly produce negative self-images for many pupils. A constant diet of steak and chips will not suit children who eat lentils, curried vegetables and rice and ought to be able to talk about it in the language they are learning. Appreciating pupils means not treating them as if they are all the same.

At school pupils come into contact with a range of ‘others’. Younger pupils can meet older pupils who can be helpful or threatening, hopefully the former. Foreign nationals such as Foreign Languages Assistants (FLAs) can offer a temptation to ‘have fun’, have a chat in English or practise what has been learnt. Teachers other than the languages teachers rarely show any reaction to the foreign language.

Implications for the classroom

Older pupils can create materials for younger pupils, either in their own school or in the nearest primary school (games, comics, stories, readers). They can actually work with the younger pupils if it can be arranged. Remember that younger pupils will be critical of materials which look shoddy and may even be demotivated by them. Careful negotiation between teachers involved will be required. The very fact that they are creating materials for younger pupils has a strong potential to make pupils feel responsible, to want to produce accurate target language. There is a role for information and communications technology (ICT) applications here (see Chapter 11). An extension of this is the ‘paired reading’ approach which has been used for some years in primary schools, where older and younger readers are encouraged and trained to read together, to become reading partners. It could be older and younger children or, in the case of primary children learning to read English, children and parents.

Pair work can also be used to enable the more able to assist the less able or to give children of similar abilities a chance to undertake a task commensurate with their ability.

The languages lesson should not become a place of non-stop performance. Pupils in many classes will not be able to cope with more than short bursts of oral work. A lesson should contain a range of activities, develop a range of skills, approach the topic in hand from a variety of perspectives.

The teacher would be wise to take cognisance of intra-class relationships and plan with them in mind. It is worthwhile keeping an eye open to find out who are friends or enemies with whom, who likes sitting with or avoiding whom.

Avoid embarrassing pupils by forcing ‘public’ activities upon them. Reading aloud can be an ego-trip for the good reader and pure hell for others (including the teacher, who feels tempted to correct almost every word a poor reader utters). Performing role-plays in front of the class can similarly be counterproductive, unless the whole class feels involved, by being asked to react in some way, which will motivate rather than demotivate the performers. Some pupils, however, actually enjoy showing off. So long as the public activity is voluntary, no harm will be done.

It does no harm for pupils to realise that the teacher is human, has moods and can have expectations of herself (or himself). Openness, if used consciously, can enhance relationships without exposing the teacher to contempt bred by over-familiarity.

The non-language times can be important ones for the language learner. ‘Time out’ gives teachers time to talk in a different way with pupils. ‘Home news’ from teacher or pupils can equally help develop relationships which can be built up in the more academic moments.

Different abilities

All children benefit from the experience of learning a foreign language, whether as a means of developing new skills up to a high level or simply to extend their awareness that people in other countries communicate in a diff...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Dedication
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Section 1 Pupils and teachers
• Section 2 Teaching and learning in the foreign language classroom
• Section 3 The target language
• Section 4 Assessment and recording
• Section 5 Foreign languages post-16
• Section 6 Information and communications technology
• Section 7 Conclusion
• References
• Index