Issues in Modern Foreign Languages Teaching

K. Field

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2004
• eBook ISBN: 9781134581030
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Issues in Modern Foreign Languages Teaching draws together a range of issues in the teaching of modern foreign languages into one volume that will encourage students and newly qualified teachers to consider and reflect on the issues so that they can make a reasoned and informed judgement about their teaching of MFL. It will be relevant for students and newly qualified teachers at both primary and secondary level and will fill a gap in their knowledge due to time constraints - and an emphasis on standards - on ITT and PGCE courses.

Part 1 An historical overview

1 The changing place of Modern Foreign Languages in the curriculum

Kit Field

DOI: 10.4324/9780203005682-2

Introduction

There is no tradition of pedagogy in the history of compulsory education in England and Wales. From Victorian times, when MFLs first appeared on the school curriculum, no formal teacher training was required, and native speakers were employed to service the perceived needs of the British upper middle classes. In a mood of desperation, and in face of pedagogical studies emerging from their home countries, native speaking teachers resorted to self help by forming their own ‘Société Nationale des Professeurs de Français en Angleterre’. This legacy of eclecticism has remained a striking feature of education in the form of conflict and confusion of thought as theorists have striven to relate aims and purposes of education to teaching, learning and pedagogy (Simon, 1994 in Moon and Mayes). Judge (1974) states that the tensions between a traditional academic emphasis and a notion of communication and international understanding have never been more at odds than in discussions centring around MFLs. Undoubtedly there has been a series of trends and recommended methodologies, and within the field of MFL teaching and learning more than in most other subject disciplines. The pragmatic alternative to following a stipulated pedagogy has led to a polarisation of teaching and learning styles, linked inextricably to the perceived purposes of teaching and learning MFLs in secondary schools. Richardson (1981) asserts that recommended approaches to teaching foreign languages have always been linked to the perceived purposes. With no formal direction until 1988, teachers have been able to determine their own aims and objectives, resulting in the view that ‘…there is no such thing as a new idea in language teaching’ (Swarbrick, 1994:1).

Reform and counter-reform movements throughout the century have led commentators to draw on the metaphor of ‘pendulum swings’ (see Hawkins 1987, Goodson 1985, Richardson 1981). In articulating recommended approaches, theorists make reference to general learning theories and theories of language learning and acquisition, which in turn are promoted and supported by governmental backing in the form of reports and education acts. At the same time, teachers have struggled to cater for an ever-changing ‘clientele’ relying on their own collective and individual intuition. The obvious need to motivate and stimulate learners is a key to success as a language teacher, in both a pragmatic and philosophical sense. Palmer (1922) a theorist with ideas before his time, attempted to identify features and principles from a range of methodologies, upon which teachers could build their own understanding of good practice. Palmer noted that no course of language study could be designed until much is known about the students for whom the course is intended. However, a respect for practitioners’ views, and the role of the professionals has never been formalised, although groups and movements have evolved. As a consequence methodological standpoints have become increasingly entrenched. As ‘Action Research’ (see Elliott 1991, McNiff, 1988 and others) is seen as individuals’ and groups’ means of improving practice, this notion of interpreting frameworks and guidance is perpetuated as the best way to progress.

New approaches develop as a reaction to existing practices, and lessons from the past have been incorporated into new recommendations. Periodically attempts have been made to crystallise thoughts and beliefs by institutionalising dogma associated with periods of time in the history of MFL teaching and learning. The most important such event has been the implementation of the National Curriculum orders. The national criteria for GCSE (DES/WO, 1985) represented a consensus between teachers, examiners and government. The confusion between different factions of the profession continued into the late 1980s and early 1990s, evident in the publication of the National Curriculum Statutory Orders. A set of purposes for teaching and learning MFLs emerged, and appeared to be a compromise between conflicting parties, rather than as a consensus. The purposes contain aspects which appeal to all teachers, yet at the same time, contentious issues to the very same body of professionals.

The purposes (DES/WO, 1990:3) attempt to be all things to all teachers. In an age of accountability and of inspection mania, one sign of good practice is the visible fulfilment of the stated purposes.

The place of a brief historical study is to analyse the validity, consistency and coherence of such a diverse set of aims. Again, electric pragmatism is the only solution for practising teachers. They are compelled to muddle through and to develop and interpret good practice in their own way. Each ‘purpose’ owes its presence in the National Curriculum documentation to the power of arguments justifying its position in conflicting theories and consequent ratification by government actions.

The educational purposes of learning foreign languages

The purposes (DES/WO 1990:3) listed below are subsequently explained. Their position in the official documentation is justified historically. The purposes are:

• to develop the ability to use language effectively for purposes of practical communication;
• to form a sound base of the skills, language and attitudes required for further study, work and leisure;
• to offer insights into the culture and civilisation of the countries where the target language is spoken;
• to develop an awareness of the nature of language and language learning;
• to provide enjoyment and intellectual stipulations;
• to encourage positive attitudes to foreign language learning and to speakers of foreign languages and a sympathetic approach to other cultures and civilisations;
• to promote learning of skills of more general application (e.g. analysis, memorising, drawing of inferences).

To develop the ability to use the language effectively for purposes of practical communication

The place of communication has not always been valued in MFL teaching and learning. Indeed the acceptance of what has been seen as a purely practical, functional purpose, has been treated as a devaluing of the subject in academic terms. This has placed the notion of practical communication in conflict with that of developing ‘an awareness of the nature of language and language learning’ (DES/WO, 1990:3). Nevertheless, philosophers throughout time have related foreign language learning to the acquisition of the mother tongue. John Locke (1690) applied the empiricist philosophy of learning through experience, and this recommendation for immersion techniques can be found in the views of (John Stuart Mill, 1867), and indeed (Bertrand Russell, 1940).

The acceptance of phonetics as a discipline worthy of study in the late nineteenth century placed sound systems at the core of language learning. The understanding and production of sounds, inevitably led to a belief that oral communication is at the heart of the language learning process. Viëtor’s, (1882) seminal work ‘Der Sprachunterricht muβ umkehren’ criticised the prominent ‘grammar/translation’ methods, recommending the need to hear and speak the target language as a starting point. Native speakers of French, frustrated by the approach in schools formed their own society, demanding that French should be taught as a living language. The development of the Direct Method—instructions in the target language, and maximum exposure to it in the classroom—quickly became accepted as an alternative approach. The conflict between those promoting a functional approach with the universities representing academic centres quickly evolved. Progress was hindered by the non-acceptance of oral methods by the examinations boards. The works of (Palmer, 1917, 1921, 1922) influenced linguists in the mid-twentieth century. The insistence of many modern theorists that the learning of language should be based around the conveyance of meaning and that meaningless grammar-based drills should be abandoned, owes much to the works of Palmer.

The Direct Method did not go so far as to reject grammatical explanation, although Gouin (1853), representing advocates of ‘The Natural Method’, did recommend the application of language in vocational, professional and personal contexts, which became accepted as the major motivational factor in the learning process.

The Incorporated Association of Assistant Masters’ (IAAM, 1956) publication The Teaching of Modern Foreign Languages is another example of teachers acting independently in the face of adversity. The paper concluded that more able linguists were required in day to day workings in commerce. The ‘vocational’ needs gave even greater credence to the demand for effective communication skills.

Developments in technology in the period following the Second World War provided the advocates of communication with new ammunition. Tape recorders and language laboratories became commonplace and associated practices led to the formation in 1962 of the Audio Visual Language Association. Once again a greater emphasis was placed on the spoken word. In its early days, this behaviourist approach could be seen to recommend many techniques contained within the later communicative approach, which in turn, would replace the audiovisual methods. The main tenets of the audio-lingual method were that there is a primacy of the spoken word over written text, that the four language skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing could be separated, and that grammar is a set of structures which should be learnt inductively.

Audio-visual methods were not a natural precursor to the communicative approach. Indeed, in contrast to the post-war BBC broadcasts, audiovisual techniques did not draw on colloquial language in authentic situations. The stimulus/response approach received due criticism, even at the time. The Incorporated Association of Head Masters (IAHM) recommended in 1966, at their annual conference, that communication, not habit formation, should underpin discussions of method, course and materials design. Nevertheless the method did establish the spoken word and a sound system as a viable alternative to the study of grammatical rules.

These beliefs and values fed into the examination system. In 1962, the Secondary Schools Examination Council (SSEC) disbanded and was replaced by first the Curriculum Study Group, and in 1964 by the Schools Council. The Nuffield Foundation, which had pioneered audiovisual techniques and was assisted by the DES secured agreement that the vocabulary presented in courses such as ‘En Avant’, and ‘Vorwärts’ would be incorporated in the forthcoming CSE syllabuses.

Just as phonetics influenced the Direct Method, new linguistic theories in the 1960s eased the development of the Communicative Approach. The Speech Act Theory (see Searle, 1969) shifted attention from habit formation through rote learning to the conveyance of meaning by dint of an illocutionary force underpinning language use. Searle argued that speakers use language for a purpose, which is more powerful than simply the meanings of words. Utterances carry a force—whether it is an apology, a question, a demand, a request etc. This new description of linguistic competence led to the evolution of functional/notional syllabuses, central to the communicative approach.

Entry to the Common Market, and subsequent analyses of British business’ rate of success in Europe (e.g. Barclays Banks International Factors for International Success (The Barclays Bank Report on Export Development in France, Germany and the UK, 1979), and (BETRO Language and Export Performance: A Study prepared for the BETRO Committee, RSA, London, 1979), placed communication and language learning firmly in a functional context.

Work in the Council of Europe, led by John Trim, and the publication of Threshold Levels (Van Ek, 1972) led to a tighter definition of adult learner needs, and a system of credit transfer. Both of these developments were transferred to secondary education contexts in the form of short-term communicative goals and defined syllabuses. These in turn were the two key features of the Graded Objectives Movement, and the explosio...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Table Of Contents
• Issues in Modern Foreign Languages Teaching
• Issues in Modern Foreign Languages Teaching
• Acknowledgements
• Part 1 An historical overview
• 1 The changing place of Modern Foreign Languages in the curriculum
• 2 Re-examining communicative language teaching 1
• Part 2 The content and definition of Modern Foreign Languages
• 3 Why learn a foreign language?
• 4 Which language?—An embarrassment of choice
• 5 At what age should foreign language learning begin?
• 6 The unique contribution of Modern Foreign Languages to the curriculum
• Part 3 Issues associated with pedagogy
• 7 Teaching and learning Modern Foreign Languages and able pupils
• 8 Mixed ability grouping in Modern Foreign Languages teaching
• 9 Why are girls better at Modern Foreign Languages than boys?
• 10 Teaching grammar in the Modern Foreign Language classroom
• 11 Developing cultural awareness
• 12 Issues in target language teaching
• 13 It all ended in tiers
• 14 Putting technology in its place: ICT in Modern Foreign Language teaching
• 15 Towards independence in language use and language learning
• 16 Literature in the communicative classroom
• Part 4 Broader issues
• 17 Raising the profile and prestige of Modern Foreign Languages in the whole school curriculum
• 18 Language transfer and the Modern Foreign Language curriculum
• Index