Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching - Diane Larsen-Freeman

I've been reading "Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching by Diane Larsen-Freeman, Second Edition (Oxford university Press, 2000). I bought the book from amazon.co.uk

In this book Larsen-Freeman outlines a series of teaching methodologies and techniques in some detail. She outlines the techniques appropriate for each methodology and some of the theory and principles underpinning them.

The methods looked at are as follows:

1. The Grammar - Translation Method
2. The Direct Method
3. The Audio-Lingual Method
4. The Silent Way
5. Desuggestopedia (also known as Suggestopedia)
6. Community Language Learning
7. Total Physical Response
8. Communicative Language Teaching
9. Content-based, Task-based and Participatory Approaches
10. Learning Strategy Training, Co-operative Learning and Multiple Intelligences.

I would recommend this book for anyone who teaches languages - it does show different ways that it can be achieved.

As to my own personal reflections.... well:

I have probably included elements of the direct and audio-lingual methods in my teaching, Communicative Language teaching is probably the closest single method to my personal teaching.

Some of the principles of the Silent Way are interesting - I think learners would have to be 'trained' before they would respond to the 'pure' way of teaching silently in the book but I think that the idea that the teacher should let students work together to find answers before providing them - that the teacher should create a space for learners to 'perform'.

Desuggestopedia seems a little bit 'spaced-out' to convince Ss. It could perhaps work in a fairly pure form with Ss who have become somewhat disillusioned with other methods of language teaching - but probably wouldn't work for classes with discipline issues. I do like the idea of making the experience as comfortable as possible for learners and trying to activate students' peripheral learning. Playing music in the background of classes seems to help some Ss - I've certainly found that it helps me when I'm studying! Posters of different language items hung up in the classroom seems to be helpful. The use of interactive whiteboards in our college would seem to help us in this regard as it makes it easier to produce more visually-stimulating materials for use in the classroom.

Community language learning is a methodology made for an EFL classroom it would seem - being much more practical with monolingual students. I would find it hard to apply in my current contexts because a) classes tend to be multilingual and in those where there are few L1s they tend to be Lithuanian and Polish - languages which I don't speak. I could apply it if I had a class of Spanish and Portuguese speakers, but that seems to be unlikely within the present FE ESOL context. It is an interesting methodology because it goes against the training that I have had up to now, I would like to be able to try it in order to see it in operation. The reality is that when I worked in EFL I was a 'novelty' as a native speaker and so the institutions that I worked for wanted me to use as much 'realistic' English as possible - this method would appear to be easier for a non-native teacher in the contexts that I worked, mainly for the way the institutions viewed their native speaker resources.

Total Physical Response - This is a promising way to include kinaesthetic learners, I feel that I could include more of these elements in my teaching and should try to... First New Year's Resolution.

Content-based, Task-based and Participatory Approaches. These approaches seem to be in vogue at the moment and I feel that they are appropriate to my context. My second new year's resolution is to try and read as much as I can on these approaches and try to implement them successfully.

Learning Strategy Training, Cooperative Learning and Multiple Intelligences. These are other areas which I would like to develop further - I have used some learner-training exercises but I feel that I should try to use them in a more coherent fashion and include them clearly in a scheme of work. Following on from that Co-operative learner is a very interesting method which could be used to help classes gel better. We will have new students in our classes in January this could be a good way to bring them in to the groups. Howard Gardner's Multiple intelligence theory has been explained to me in loads of different places, however Larsen-Freeman does include an interesting lesson outline from Emmanuela Agostini that could use seven of Gardner's intelligences. I need to look at that and see if there was a way I could use something similar in my context.

Discourse and Content in Language Teaching

I have been reading "Discourse and Context in Language Teaching" by Marianne Celce-Murcia and Elite Olshtain.

The book shows how the choice of grammar and lexis is affected by the discourse level and the implications of this for language teaching.

Celce-Murcia & Olshtain talk about the importance of 'Pragmatics' and how the speaker's intention and context affects the meaning of what they say.

The affects of discourse on phonology are analysed (intonation, rhythm, etc.) as in the effect of discourse on grammatical forms.

Celce-Murcia & Olshtain make it clear that all new grammar forms must be presented and tested in context.

Complete texts can be used to present vocabulary, however the authors concede that there are different ways of teaching vocabulary.

The authors investigate the different skills and suggest that we use both top-down and bottom-up strategies in reading, listening, writing and speaking and suggests ways that all these strategies (particularly the top-down) can be taught.

The final part of the book suggests how this can be implemented in the design of syllabuses and curriculums.

Borrowed from the Library at Tower Hamlets College, Arbour Square, L0ndon E1

Letter to my MP

Dear Lyn Brown,

I am writing to you to draw attention to Early Day Motion 383 'English for Speakers of Other Language Funding' tabled on the 4th of December by Helen Jones. The motion expresses concern at the Government's plans to cut ESOL funding for migrant workers and asylum seekers.

As an ESOL lecturer, at Barking College, one may consider that I have a vested interest. I cannot deny that. However, I would also consider that I am also in a good position to see the effects of English-Language tuition on migrant workers and as a Newham resident - your constituent, and tutor for several Newham residents (including many who are looking to take UK citizenship - to become your constituents) I would like to state my concern over this issue.

English language skills are vital for integration in this country. It should be clear to you, as a representative of one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse areas of the country that this is vital for residents of West Ham - both those who wish to learn English and those who already speak English, or are British themselves.

Migrant workers are one of the most vulnerable sectors of the population, if they are unable to speak English it is far more likely that they can be exploited by unscrupulous employers. This will have a knock-on effect on the local population - if more people are being exploited at below the minimun wage it will be harder for all workers to earn a living wage. On a far more simplistic level the more migrant workers are able to speak English, the more money they will earn and the more tax they will pay.

As the Parliamentary Private Secretary to Communities minister Mr. Phil Woolas you will be aware that he has raised concerns over the amount of money spent on translation services and suggested that the balance should be shifted further towards English Language courses. Is it not then incoherent that this is being coupled with some of the biggest cuts to ESOL funding in recent history.

Also I note that you raised a written question over the EAL provision in Newham schools, which was answered in July of this year. Are you in agreement that for the same reasons that English as an additional language provision is vital, so is the ESOL provision offered by FE colleges.

I am writing to ask that you sign the above mentioned EDM and ask your colleagues to do the same. Your experience in Newham should make clear that role that English language learning plays in promoting community engagement, and how limiting a lack of English proficiency can be.

I await your reply with interest.

Yours Sincerely,


-Philip Bird

Tutorials....

This week we had our first lot of tutorials...... and there are a few things that I need to work on. I think I need to brush up a bit on methodology and develop my own style... which I don't have much of at the moment.

Hopefully that should lead my classes to be somewhat more effective - So that's a big load of teaching theory reading I need to do over Christmas.

Apart from that, the biggest thing we looked at today were ILPs - and the discussions which revolve around them. There really does seem to very little in terms of help with the practical problems around applying them - there's plenty of good theory around, but I really haven't seen anyone who can use them effectively. It's a big problem at work, so I'll feed in what I've found out and read and see if it helps. I get the feeling from Tower Hamlets that because they do such a detailed diagnostic, which clearly informs their planning the ILP becomes less relevant, but I need to find out more.

Anyway, I have to leave this now, as it's getting really late.

...so here it begins....

....at the beginning. Well, no - in fact it's beginning around the middle, but all's well that end's well, so I'm assured.

I guess I should include some beginning type stuff - I am a lecturer in ESOL at a Further Education College on the outskirts of East London and I am taking a training course with a huge great long name that is crying out for an acronym - I can only imagine that the English Language Teaching, sorry ELT world seems to have run out of acronyms. In my case this course is a follow up to a CELTA (Certificate in Language Teaching to Adults) in order to help my transition from teaching EFL (English as a Foreign Language) to teaching ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) so that the DFES (Department For Education and Skills) will recognise me as a QTLS (no, still not sure on this one).

This is a result of last weeks session on the (ahem, wait for it) Certificate in Further Education Stage 3 with the Certificate for Subject Specialists qualification (try saying that when you're, er... tired) at Tower Hamlets College.

We had the importance of reflective development impressed upon us - and as well as being a requirement for our course it seems to be a very sensible procedure. So here goes....

I recently had an observation at short notice, well it was kind of a meta-observation - my boss was being observed observing me... It was a bit of a disaster to be frank, so I've been a bit concerned about the observation that I'm going to have this week on the course. I've been trying to plan my lessons with a lot more thoroughness - I usually get a bit (read, very) lazy so that's my target at the moment. That and making my lessons engage my students a bit more.

Another thing which happened recently was that I went on a training course in a Kensington Hotel (very, swish) on Differentiation last week. This was a real eye-opener when it comes to teaching multi-level (as ESOL classes often tend to be) classes. Basically differentiation is something which has to run right through my classes - which means that I just need to write down things that I would normally do... that and manage my group work much closer... Ok that's one to put on my list.

This weeks session at Tower Hamlets (slightly less posh) was looking at Assessments, Diagnostics and ICT/IT/e-learning/ILT (insert current buzzword here) and it was very useful. Particularly thought provoking was looking at Douglas-Brown's criteria for assessing assessments - and that basically the diagnostics used by most colleges (including ours, lovingly cribbed from Tower Hamlets College) are somewhat lacking, because - among other things:

• They feel like an exam, so Ss don't relax.
• They don't set any context so Ss can't get a hold easily on the content.
• They don't give realistic tasks that transparently test the four skills independently

We then looked at some currently being used at THC which seemed amazing - they basically run as mini lessons with small groups of learners, where learners are discreetly assessed by a teacher and then detailed diagnostic grids are recorded. It seems to be a much better way of doing things - much more pleasant for the students and probably more likely to give useable data.

Next week we'll be looking at ILP's (spits on floor with disgust). It seems that the Arbour Square team have almost completely eliminated them for ESOL. How they managed to do that and not get an OFSTED SWAT team abseiling through the windows is beyond me, so I'll be paying very close attention to that one next week.

Then in the afternoon with Graciano Soares, we looked at e-learning policies - to sum everything up, basically the government sees it as essential that teaching practitioners remain up-to-date with Information Technology. That's probably a sensible thing, because almost all areas of work need IT, so it fits with the vocational 'into-work' focus of the current government. I couldn't really disagree with it - but I could do with a bit more training in how exactly to TEACH IT, I have no problem using it, but I could do with a few more opportunities to practice.

Anyway, got to go now... it's getting late - hopefully this should be pretty much a weekly occurrence - I'm definitely going to try and keep it up.