Unit 2 Terminology Flashcards
particle
Definition: Either an adverb or adjective, which combines with a verb to form a phrasal verb.
Additional Feature: They can be difficult for learners, because sometimes its not clear if the particle is part of the phrasal verb, or something else, such as the prepositional phrase in “He threw the ball up the stairs.”
Example: “up” in “He threw up because he was sick.”
multiword verb
Definition: A verb which consists of two or three words. Together the words comprises a single unit of meaning.
Additional Feature: They can be very difficult for learners because the meanings are often idiomatic and not clear. “He looked after my dog.”
Example: “look after,” “offer up,” “take off”
approach
Definition: A system of teaching a language based on a particular theory of language or learning.
Additional Feature: An approach is generally considered to be more general than a method. Methods can be thought of as specific implementations of an approach.
Example: Lexical Approach
methodology
Definition: A particular classroom practice.
Additional Feature: It’s more general than method. It’s not specific to language teaching, either.
Example: Classroom management
the listening approach
Definition:
Additional Feature:
Example:
task-based learning
Definition: An approach where the lesson is centered around a task, as opposed to grammar or lexis.
Additional Feature: It is sometimes divided between “strong” and “weak” versions. In the strong version, there is no focus on grammar or the form of language. In the weak, there might be some, but it is secondary to successful completion of the task.
Example: Example tasks might include: ordering food at a restaurant, planning a class field trip, writing a recipe
the silent way
Definition: A method which believes that because learning is a deeply individual process, each student learns differently. Therefore, the teacher’s role should be minimal, more as a facilitator than an instructor. The teacher instead utilizes special tools, such as Fidel Charts and Cuisinaire rods.
Additional Feature: The approach requires small classes and special training, and thus has never received full mainstream acceptance.
Example: A teacher in the silent method may, for example, help students understand basic sentence structure by using different sized cuisinaire rods for each of the sentence components (subject, verb, object).
community language learning
Definition: A method developed in the USA in the 1970s, where students views and feelings are valued throughout. The teacher is more of a consultant than a leader of the class.
Additional Feature: As a complete method, it has fallen out of favor, but some of its practices have been incorporated into more conventional teaching.
Example: It’s best known task is the group conversation. The learners sit in a circle and have a conversation, recording it utterance by utterance. The teacher is on hand to help if the students have trouble. The recording may then be transcribed and analyzed.
suggestopeadia
Definition: An approach which believes that students are capable of highly accelerated leaning once all emotional barriers to learning are removed. Extraordinary effort is made to put the learners at ease.
Additional Feature: It was developed in the 1970s, by Georgi Lazanov.
Example: Classical music in the background and false names and personae are examples of techniques that are incorporated.
the direct method
Definition: A method which believes in using only L2 in the classroom. The teacher’s role is to maintain an ongoing conversation with the class.
Additional Feature: In the US, it later incorporated behaviorist psychology and became audiolingualism.
Example: To teach form and meaning, teachers would not use translation, but would instead refer to real objects or situations. A sample might be: “This is coffee. The coffee is hot. Is the coffee cold? (No.)”
the natural approach
Definition: An approach which attempts to mirror the way people naturally learn their first language.
Additional Feature: Initially, there is no pressure to speak. The emphasis is on comprehensible input, and once sts begin to speak there is little explicit grammar correction.
Example: The teacher might use gestures or visual aids to explain new language. “Are you hungry?” (T rubs belly) “Thristy?” (T mimes drinking from a glass)
total physical response
Definition: A method which focuses, like the natural approach, on comprehensible input. Learners are given a series of commands for which there is a physical response. There is no pressure to speak.
Additional Feature: It’s techniques have been heavily incorporated into the teaching of younger learners and lower-level learners, but its narrow focus makes it difficult to apply to more advanced learners.
Example: A teacher might say commands like “Sit down. Stand up. Raise your hand.” Learners would perform the correpsonding actions.
deductive approach
Definition: An approach which starts with general rules and then applies these to examples.
Additional Feature: Although recent methodologies tend to favor inductive approaches, deductive can be effective when the rule itself is clear and simple, such as some rules of form.
Example: Sts might be given the rule for adding -ing to verbs, and then a list of verbs to add the ending to.
behaviorist
Definition: A psychological theory which was popular in the mid-twentieth century. It viewed learning as a type of habit-formation, achieved through positive reinforcement.
Additional Feature: It was combined with features of the direct method to create audiolingualism.
Example:
universal grammar
Definition: The theory that all languages share certain fundamental principles.
Additional Feature: It is very closely associated with Noam Chomsky, who believes that everyone is genetically hard-wired with a Language Acquisition Device (LAD) which has access to these fundamental principles.
Example: Universal Grammar attempts to account for the fact that, for example, a child born into a poor family in rural Somalia, without much formal classroom instruction, nonetheless will likely achieve a mastery of his or her L1 which is similar to someone born into a wealthy British family who receives a full, first-world formal education.
cognative-developmentalist
Definition: A psychological theory which believes that language acquisition is just like the acquisition of other complex skills. Mastery is achieved through forming and testing hypotheses in order to inductively learn rules.
Additional Feature: The theory is closely associated with Piaget and is often contrasted with mentalism and universal grammar.
Example: Children often pick-up language from adults around them and repeatedly test and refine it. “Thirsty, water!” might, over time, gradually become “Thirsty. Water, please!” before, eventually, “I’m thirsty, can I have water?”
audiolingualism
Definition: A method based on behaviorist psychology. It focused on spoken language, and the formation of habits. There was little tolerance for errors, as they were thought to lead to “bad habits.”
Additional Feature: Although it was largely discredited by Noam Chomsky’s views on universal grammar, some of its classroom activities are still utilized today.
Example: The method made frequent use of drilling of sentence patterns: “This weekend, I’m going to go shopping. I’m going to see a movie. I’m going to have dinner, etc.”
