TEACHING GOALS AND METHODSThis section outlines the goals and methods that characterize language teaching in colleges and
universities in the United States, and provides guidelines for implementing those methods in
the classroom.
Two worksheets, attached at the end of this document, help language instructors assess their
overall teaching approach and their ways of using current methodology in specific lessons. A
third worksheet allows supervisors to provide specific feedback after observing an instructor in
the classroom.
Section Contents
Goal: Communicative competence
Method: Learner-centered instruction
Guidelines for instruction
• Provide appropriate input
• Use language in authentic ways
• Provide context
• Design activities with a purpose
• Use task-based activities
• Encourage collaboration
• Use an integrated approach
• Address grammar consciously
• Adjust feedback/error correction to the situation
• Include awareness of cultural aspects of language use
Resources
Worksheets
Instructor self-evaluation worksheet: overall teaching approach
Instructor self-evaluation worksheet: specific lesson
Supervisor observation worksheet
Material in this section is drawn from the modules "Research and language learning: A tour of
the horizon" by Ken Sheppard, and "Spoken language: What it is and how to teach it" by Grace
Stovall Burkart in Modules for the Professional Preparation of Teaching Assistants in Foreign
Languages (Grace Stovall Burkart, ed.; Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics, 1998)
Goal: Communicative Competence
Language teaching in the United States is based on the idea that the goal of language
acquisition is communicative competence: the ability to use the language correctly and
appropriately to accomplish communication goals. The desired outcome of the language
learning process is the ability to communicate competently, not the ability to use the language
exactly as a native speaker does.
Communicative competence is made up of four competence areas: linguistic, sociolinguistic,
discourse, and strategic.
• Linguistic competence is knowing how to use the grammar, syntax, and vocabulary of a
language. Linguistic competence asks: What words do I use? How do I put them into
phrases and sentences?
• Sociolinguistic competence is knowing how to use and respond to language appropriately,
given the setting, the topic, and the relationships among the people communicating.
Sociolinguistic competence asks: Which words and phrases fit this setting and this topic?
How can I express a specific attitude (courtesy, authority, friendliness, respect) when I need
to? How do I know what attitude another person is expressing?
• Discourse competence is knowing how to interpret the larger context and how to construct
longer stretches of language so that the parts make up a coherent whole. Discourse
competence asks: How are words, phrases and sentences put together to create
conversations, speeches, email messages, newspaper articles?
• Strategic competence is knowing how to recognize and repair communication breakdowns,
how to work around gaps in one’s knowledge of the language, and how to learn more about
the language and in the context. Strategic competence asks: How do I know when I’ve
misunderstood or when someone has misunderstood me? What do I say then? How can I
express my ideas if I don’t know the name of something or the right verb form to use?
In the early stages of language learning, instructors and students may want to keep in mind the
goal of communicative efficiency: That learners should be able to make themselves understood,
using their current proficiency to the fullest. They should try to avoid confusion in the message
(due to faulty pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary); to avoid offending communication
partners (due to socially inappropriate style); and to use strategies for recognizing and
managing communication breakdowns.
Method: Learner-centered Instruction
In language classrooms in the United States, instruction focuses on the learner and the learning
process. The instructor creates a learning environment that resembles as much as possible the
one in which students learned their first language. Students participate in the learning process
by establishing learning goals, developing and choosing learning strategies, and evaluating
their own progress. In the classroom, students attend to models provided by the instructor
(input) and then build on those models as they use language themselves (output). Classroom
activities incorporate real-world situations.
Learner-centered instruction encourages students to take responsibility for their own language
skill development and helps them gain confidence in their ability to learn and use the language.
Teachers support students by devoting some class time to non-traditional activities, including
teaching learners how to use learning strategies (see Motivating Students), how to use available
tools and resources, and how to reflect on their own learning (see Assessing Learning).
Many U.S. students have had experience with learner-centered instruction and expect it to be
used in their classrooms. Students who are accustomed to more traditional teacher-centered
instruction may resist the learner-centered model at first because it expects them to be more
involved in the learning process. However, when they discover that learner-centered instruction
enables them to develop real-world language skills while having fun, they usually become
enthusiastic participants.
For further discussion of learner-centered instruction, see Models of Language Teaching in
What Language Teaching Is.
Guidelines for Communicative, Learner-centered Instruction
These ten guidelines will help you make communicative language teaching and learnercentered
instruction part of your own instructional approach.
• Provide appropriate input
• Use language in authentic ways
• Provide context
• Design activities with a purpose
• Use task-based activities
• Encourage collaboration
• Use an integrated approach
• Address grammar consciously
• Adjust feedback/error correction to the situation
• Include awareness of cultural aspects of language use
1. Provide Appropriate Input
Input is the language to which students are exposed: teacher talk, listening activities, reading
passages, and the language heard and read outside of class. Input gives learners the material
they need to develop their ability to use the language on their own.
Language input has two forms. Finely tuned input
• Is matched to learners' current comprehension level and connected to what they already
know
• Focuses on conscious learning of a specific point: the pronunciation of a word, the
contrast in the uses of two verb tenses, new vocabulary, useful social formulas
• Is controlled by the instructor or textbook author
• Is used in the presentation stage of a lesson
Roughly tuned input
• Is more complex than learners' current proficiency and stretches the boundaries of their
current knowledge
• Focuses on authentic use of language in listening or reading passages
• Is used "as is," with minimal alteration by the instructor or textbook author
• Is used in the activity stage of the lesson
Roughly tuned input challenges student to use listening and reading strategies to aid
comprehension. When selecting authentic materials for use as roughly tuned input, look for
listening and reading selections that are one level of proficiency higher than students' current
level. This will ensure that students will be challenged by the material without being
overwhelmed by its difficulty.
2. Use Language in Authentic Ways
In order to learn a language, instead of merely learning about it, students need as much as
possible to hear and read the language as native speakers use it. Instructors can make this
happen in two ways.
Teacher talk: Always try to use the language as naturally as possible when you are talking to
students. Slowing down may seem to make the message more comprehensible, but it also
distorts the subtle shifts in pronunciation that occur in naturally paced speech.
• Speak at a normal rate
5
• Use vocabulary and sentence structures with which students are familiar
• State the same idea in different ways to aid comprehension
Materials: Give students authentic reading material from newspapers, magazines, and other
print sources. To make them accessible,
• Review them carefully to ensure that the reading level is appropriate
• Introduce relevant vocabulary and grammatical structures in advance
• Provide context by describing the content and typical formats for the type of material
(for example, arrival and departure times for travel schedules)
Advertisements, travel brochures, packaging, and street signs contain short statements that
students at lower levels can manage. The World Wide Web is a rich resource for authentic
materials. Reading authentic materials motivates students at all levels because it gives them the
sense that they really are able to use the language.
3. Provide Context
Context includes knowledge of
• the topic or content
• the vocabulary and language structures in which the content is usually presented
• the social and cultural expectations associated with the content
To help students have an authentic experience of understanding and using language, prepare
them by raising their awareness of the context in which it occurs.
• Ask them what they know about the topic
• Ask what they can predict from the title or heading of a reading selection or the opening
line of a listening selection
• Review the vocabulary (including idiomatic expressions) and sentence structures that
are usually found in that type of material
• Review relevant social and cultural expectations
4. Design Activities with a Purpose
Ordinarily, communication has a purpose: to convey information. Activities in the language
classroom simulate communication outside the classroom when they are structured with such a
purpose. In these classroom activities, students use the language to fill an information gap by
getting answers or expanding a partial understanding. For example, students work in pairs, and
each is given half of a map, grid, or list needed to complete a task. The pair then talk to each
other until they both have all the information.
5. Use Task-based Activities
Fluent speakers use language to perform tasks such as solving problems, developing plans, and
working together to complete projects. The use of similar task-based activities in the classroom
is an excellent way to encourage students to use the language. Tasks may involve solving a
word problem, creating a crossword puzzle, making a video, preparing a presentation, or
drawing up a plan.
6. Encourage Collaboration
Whenever possible, ask students to work in pairs or small groups. Give students structure in the
form of a defined task and outcome. This structure will allow students to collaborate as they
develop a work plan, discuss the substance of the task, and report the outcome. They will thus
use language in a variety of ways and learn from each other.
Effective collaborative activities have three characteristics.
• Communication gap: Each student has relevant information that the others don't have
• Task orientation: Activity has a defined outcome, such as solving a problem or drawing
a map
• Time limit: Students have a preset amount of time to complete the task
7. Use an Integrated Approach
Integration has two forms. Mode integration is the combination of listening, speaking, reading,
and writing in classroom activities. By asking students to use two or more modes, instructors
create activities that imitate real world language use.
Content integration is bringing content from students' fields of study into the language
curriculum. University students often find it instructive to read, discuss, and write about
material whose content they already know, because their knowledge of the topic helps them
understand and use the language. They are able to scaffold: to build on existing knowledge as
they increase their language proficiency. For students who plan to study and/or work in a field
that will require them to use the language they are learning, integration of content can be a
powerful motivator.
8. Address Grammar Consciously
University students usually need and appreciate direct instruction in points of grammar that are
related to classroom activities. These students often have knowledge of the rules associated
with standard use of their native language (metalinguistic knowledge) and can benefit from
development of similar knowledge in the target language and discussion of similarities and
differences.
Discuss points of grammar in the contexts where they arise. Asking students to think through a
rule in the context of an effort to express themselves clearly is a more effective way of helping
them internalize the rule than teaching the rule in isolation.
Two types of grammar rules to address when using authentic materials:
• Prescriptive rules: State how the language "should" or "must" be used; define what is
"correct." These are the rules that are taught in language textbooks.
• Descriptive rules: State how the language is actually used by fluent speakers. The degree
to which descriptive rules differ from prescriptive rules depends on the setting
(casual/formal use of language), the topic, and the backgrounds of the speakers.
9. Adjust Feedback/Error Correction to Situation
In the parts of a lesson that focus on form (see Planning a Lesson), direct and immediate
feedback is needed and expected. Encourage students to self-correct by waiting after they have
spoken or by asking them to try again.
Feedback techniques:
• Paraphrase a student's utterances, modeling the correct forms
• Ask students to clarify their utterances, providing paraphrases of their own
Avoid feeding students the correct forms every time. Gradually teaching them to depend less
on you and more on themselves is what language teaching is all about.
In the parts of a lesson that focus on communication activities (see Planning a Lesson), the flow
of talk should not be interrupted by the teacher's corrections. When students address you, react
to the content of their utterances, not just the form. Your response is a useful comprehension
check for students, and on the affective level it shows that you are listening to what they say.
Make note of recurring errors you hear so that you can address them with the whole group in
the feedback session later (see Planning a Lesson).
10. Include Awareness of Cultural Aspects of Language Use
Languages are cognitive systems, but they also express ideas and transmit cultural values.
When you are discussing language use with your students, it is important to include
information on the social, cultural, and historical context that certain language forms carry for
native speakers. Often these explanations include reference to what a native speaker would hear
or say, and why.
Culture is expressed and transmitted through magazines and newspapers, radio and television
programs, movies, and the internet. Using media as authentic materials in the classroom can
expand students' perspectives and generate interesting discussions about the relationships
between language and culture.
Resources
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Bennett, J. (1996). Learner-centered instruction for adult learners. A workshop for curriculum
designers involved in the revision of the NAFSA curriculum. Washington, DC: NAFSA:
Association of International Educators.
Bialystok, E. (1990). Communication strategies: A psychological analysis of second language use.
Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Biber, D. (1988). Variation across speech and writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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Brinton, D., Snow, M. A., and Wesche, M. B. (1989). Content-based second language instruction.
New York: Newbury House/Harper & Row.
Brooks, N. (1960). Language and language learning: Theory and practice. New York: Harcourt, Brace
& World.
Brown, D. (1994). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy. Englewood
Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall Regents.
Brown, H. D. (1987). Principles of language learning and teaching (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice-Hall.
Bruffee, K. A. (1984). Collaborative learning and the "conversation of mankind." College English
46, 635-652.
Canale, M., and Swain, M. (1980). Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second
language teaching and testing. Applied Linguistics 1(1), 1-47.
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Cambridge University Press.
Cummins, J. (1991). Interdependence of first- and second-language proficiency in bilingual
children. In E. Bialystok (Ed.), Language processing in bilingual children. Cambridge:
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Ellis, R. (1994). The study of second language acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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Gass, S. M. (1988). Integrating research areas: A framework for second language studies. Applied
Linguistics 9 , 198-217.
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proficiency. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hilles, S. (1986). Interlanguage and the pro-drop parameter. Second Language Research 2, 33-52.
Hymes, D. (1970). On communicative competence. In J. Gumperz & D. Hymes (Eds.), Directions
in sociolinguistics. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
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(Eds.), Language acquisition: Models and methods. Academic Press.
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Crymes, (Eds.), On TESOL '77. Washington, DC: TESOL.
Krashen, S. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Oxford: Pergamon.
Krashen, S. (1985). The input hypothesis: Issues and implications. London: Longman.
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Krashen, S. (1992). Some new evidence for an old hypothesis. Paper delivered at the
Georgetown University Round Table in Linguistics, Washington, DC.
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and language learning. ITL: Review of Applied Linguistics 39/40, 73-92.
Krathwohl, D. R., Bloom, B. S., & Masia, B. B. (1964). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The
classification of educational goals. Handbook II: Affective domain. New York: David McKay.
Krueger, M., & Ryan, F. (Eds.). (1993). Language and content: Discipline- and content-based
approaches to language study. Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath.
Larsen-Freeman, D. (1991). Second language acquisition research: Staking out the territory.
TESOL Quarterly 25 (2), 315-350.
Larsen-Freeman, D., & Long, M.H. (1991). An introduction to second language acquisition research.
London: Longman.
Lee, J. F., & VanPatten, B. (1995). Making communicative language teaching happen. McGraw-Hill.
Lewis, M., & Hill, J. (1992). Practical techniques for language teaching. Language Teaching
Publications.
Lightbown, P. (1981). What have we here? Some observations on the effect of instruction on L2
learning. In E. Phillipson, E. Kellerman, L. Selinker, M. Sharwood-Smith, & M. Swain
(Eds.), Foreign/second language pedagogy research. Clevedon, England: Multilingual
Matters.
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teaching. Applied Linguistics 6, 173-189.
Littlewood, W. (1981). Communicative language teaching: An introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge
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Livingstone, C. (1983). Role play in language learning. London: Longman.
Long, M., & Crookes, G. (1992). Three approaches to task-based syllabus design. TESOL
Quarterly 26 (1) , 27-56.
McCarthy, M. (1991). Discourse analysis for language teachers. Cambridge University Press.
McLaughlin, B. (1987). Theories of second-language learning. London: Edward Arnold.
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Applied Linguistics 9, 115-123.
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Cambridge University Press.
Nunan, D. (1989). Designing tasks for the communicative classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Omaggio Hadley, A. (1993). Teaching language in context (2nd ed.). Heinle & Heinle.
Pica, T., & Doughty, C. (1985). The role of group work in classroom second language
acquisition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 7, 233-248.
Pinker, S. (1994). The language instinct: How the mind creates language. New York: William
Morrow.
Preston, D. R. (1989). Sociolinguistics and second language acquisition. London: Basil Blackwell.
Pride, J. B. (1979). Sociolinguistic aspects of language learning and teaching. London: Oxford
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Savignon, S. (1972). Communicative competence: An experiment in foreign language teaching. Center
for Curriculum Development.
Savignon, S. (1983). Communicative competence: Theory and classroom practice. Reading, MA:
Addison-Wesley.
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261-277.
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Instructor Self-evaluation Worksheet: Overall Language Teaching ApproachUse this worksheet to think about your overall approach to teaching language and to identify
ways you can adopt a more learner-centered methodology.
1. I talk ____ percent of the time in my classroom. My purposes for talking are:
2. My students speak individually _____ percent of the time in my classroom. Their purposes
for speaking are:
3. My students talk with one another ______ percent of the time in my classroom. Their
purposes for talking with one another are:
4. My students have a say in the material we study in these ways:
5. My students evaluate their own progress in these ways:
6. My students evaluate each others’ progress in these ways:
7. My approach is more teacher centered than learner centered in the following situations:
8. My approach is more learner centered than teacher centered in the following situations:
9. I want to make my approach more learner centered in these ways:
10. I have the following concerns or reservations about learner-centered instruction:
Instructor Self-evaluation Worksheet: Specific Lesson
Use this worksheet to think about a specific lesson that you have taught. It can also help you
think through a lesson that you plan to teach.
1. What finely-tuned input did I provide? How much? How did I determine that it was finely
tuned?
2. What roughly-tuned input did I provide? How much? How did I determine that it was
appropriate for my students?
3. Was my use of oral language authentic? Did I distort sounds by slowing my speech? Did I use
repetition and restatement to help students understand?
4. How did I provide context for the material that we covered in class?
5. What was the purpose of the activities we did in the classroom? How did I convey that
purpose to the students?
6. What task-based activity did I use? What information gap was involved? What was the
required product or outcome?
7. How did students collaborate during different parts of the lesson?
8. Which language modes were integrated in classroom activities, and how?
9. When did we address specific grammar topics? Who asked questions? Who provided
answers?
10. When did students ask for feedback? What kind of feedback did they request? How did I
provide it?
11. When did I provide feedback that students had not requested? How did I provide it?
12. How did I include awareness of cultural aspects of language use in the lesson?
13
Supervisor Observation Worksheet
Use this worksheet when observing a teacher’s classroom performance to provide feedback on
specific teaching styles and behaviors. Whenever possible, give specific examples.
1. What finely-tuned input did the teacher provide? How much? Was this input appropriate for
the students?
2. What roughly-tuned input did the teacher provide? How much? Was this input appropriate
for the students?
3. In what ways was the teacher’s use of oral language authentic? In what ways was it not
authentic?
4. How did the teacher provide context for the material that was covered in class?
5. What was the purpose of classroom activities? How did the teacher convey that purpose to
the students?
6. What task-based activity was used? What information gap was involved? What was the
required product or outcome?
7. How did students collaborate during different parts of the lesson?
8. Which language modes were integrated in classroom activities, and how?
9. When did the class address specific grammar topics? Who asked questions? Who provided
answers?
10. When did students ask for feedback? What kind of feedback did they request? How did the
instructor provide it?
11. When and how did the instructor provide feedback that students had not requested?
12. How did the instructor include awareness of cultural aspects of language use in the lesson?
14
13. The instructor talked ______ percent of the time. Individual students spoke ______ percent
of the time. Students talked with one another ______ percent of the time.
14. The percentages listed in #13 were appropriate because
15. The percentages listed in #13 could have been changed in the following ways:
16. This instructor’s teaching method is teacher centered in these ways:
17. This instructor’s teaching method is learner centered in these ways:
18. Suggestions for making teaching more learner centered:
Method: Learner-centered instruction
Guidelines for instruction
• Provide appropriate input
• Use language in authentic ways
• Provide context
• Design activities with a purpose
• Use task-based activities
• Encourage collaboration
• Use an integrated approach
• Address grammar consciously
• Adjust feedback/error correction to the situation
• Include awareness of cultural aspects of language use
Resources
Worksheets
Instructor self-evaluation worksheet: overall teaching approach
Instructor self-evaluation worksheet: specific lesson
Supervisor observation worksheet
Material in this section is drawn from the modules "Research and language learning: A tour of
the horizon" by Ken Sheppard, and "Spoken language: What it is and how to teach it" by Grace
Stovall Burkart in Modules for the Professional Preparation of Teaching Assistants in Foreign
Languages (Grace Stovall Burkart, ed.; Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics, 1998)
Goal: Communicative Competence
Language teaching in the United States is based on the idea that the goal of language
acquisition is communicative competence: the ability to use the language correctly and
appropriately to accomplish communication goals. The desired outcome of the language
learning process is the ability to communicate competently, not the ability to use the language
exactly as a native speaker does.
Communicative competence is made up of four competence areas: linguistic, sociolinguistic,
discourse, and strategic.
• Linguistic competence is knowing how to use the grammar, syntax, and vocabulary of a
language. Linguistic competence asks: What words do I use? How do I put them into
phrases and sentences?
• Sociolinguistic competence is knowing how to use and respond to language appropriately,
given the setting, the topic, and the relationships among the people communicating.
Sociolinguistic competence asks: Which words and phrases fit this setting and this topic?
How can I express a specific attitude (courtesy, authority, friendliness, respect) when I need
to? How do I know what attitude another person is expressing?
• Discourse competence is knowing how to interpret the larger context and how to construct
longer stretches of language so that the parts make up a coherent whole. Discourse
competence asks: How are words, phrases and sentences put together to create
conversations, speeches, email messages, newspaper articles?
• Strategic competence is knowing how to recognize and repair communication breakdowns,
how to work around gaps in one’s knowledge of the language, and how to learn more about
the language and in the context. Strategic competence asks: How do I know when I’ve
misunderstood or when someone has misunderstood me? What do I say then? How can I
express my ideas if I don’t know the name of something or the right verb form to use?
In the early stages of language learning, instructors and students may want to keep in mind the
goal of communicative efficiency: That learners should be able to make themselves understood,
using their current proficiency to the fullest. They should try to avoid confusion in the message
(due to faulty pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary); to avoid offending communication
partners (due to socially inappropriate style); and to use strategies for recognizing and
managing communication breakdowns.
Method: Learner-centered Instruction
In language classrooms in the United States, instruction focuses on the learner and the learning
process. The instructor creates a learning environment that resembles as much as possible the
one in which students learned their first language. Students participate in the learning process
by establishing learning goals, developing and choosing learning strategies, and evaluating
their own progress. In the classroom, students attend to models provided by the instructor
(input) and then build on those models as they use language themselves (output). Classroom
activities incorporate real-world situations.
Learner-centered instruction encourages students to take responsibility for their own language
skill development and helps them gain confidence in their ability to learn and use the language.
Teachers support students by devoting some class time to non-traditional activities, including
teaching learners how to use learning strategies (see Motivating Students), how to use available
tools and resources, and how to reflect on their own learning (see Assessing Learning).
Many U.S. students have had experience with learner-centered instruction and expect it to be
used in their classrooms. Students who are accustomed to more traditional teacher-centered
instruction may resist the learner-centered model at first because it expects them to be more
involved in the learning process. However, when they discover that learner-centered instruction
enables them to develop real-world language skills while having fun, they usually become
enthusiastic participants.
For further discussion of learner-centered instruction, see Models of Language Teaching in
What Language Teaching Is.
Guidelines for Communicative, Learner-centered Instruction
These ten guidelines will help you make communicative language teaching and learnercentered
instruction part of your own instructional approach.
• Provide appropriate input
• Use language in authentic ways
• Provide context
• Design activities with a purpose
• Use task-based activities
• Encourage collaboration
• Use an integrated approach
• Address grammar consciously
• Adjust feedback/error correction to the situation
• Include awareness of cultural aspects of language use
1. Provide Appropriate Input
Input is the language to which students are exposed: teacher talk, listening activities, reading
passages, and the language heard and read outside of class. Input gives learners the material
they need to develop their ability to use the language on their own.
Language input has two forms. Finely tuned input
• Is matched to learners' current comprehension level and connected to what they already
know
• Focuses on conscious learning of a specific point: the pronunciation of a word, the
contrast in the uses of two verb tenses, new vocabulary, useful social formulas
• Is controlled by the instructor or textbook author
• Is used in the presentation stage of a lesson
Roughly tuned input
• Is more complex than learners' current proficiency and stretches the boundaries of their
current knowledge
• Focuses on authentic use of language in listening or reading passages
• Is used "as is," with minimal alteration by the instructor or textbook author
• Is used in the activity stage of the lesson
Roughly tuned input challenges student to use listening and reading strategies to aid
comprehension. When selecting authentic materials for use as roughly tuned input, look for
listening and reading selections that are one level of proficiency higher than students' current
level. This will ensure that students will be challenged by the material without being
overwhelmed by its difficulty.
2. Use Language in Authentic Ways
In order to learn a language, instead of merely learning about it, students need as much as
possible to hear and read the language as native speakers use it. Instructors can make this
happen in two ways.
Teacher talk: Always try to use the language as naturally as possible when you are talking to
students. Slowing down may seem to make the message more comprehensible, but it also
distorts the subtle shifts in pronunciation that occur in naturally paced speech.
• Speak at a normal rate
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• Use vocabulary and sentence structures with which students are familiar
• State the same idea in different ways to aid comprehension
Materials: Give students authentic reading material from newspapers, magazines, and other
print sources. To make them accessible,
• Review them carefully to ensure that the reading level is appropriate
• Introduce relevant vocabulary and grammatical structures in advance
• Provide context by describing the content and typical formats for the type of material
(for example, arrival and departure times for travel schedules)
Advertisements, travel brochures, packaging, and street signs contain short statements that
students at lower levels can manage. The World Wide Web is a rich resource for authentic
materials. Reading authentic materials motivates students at all levels because it gives them the
sense that they really are able to use the language.
3. Provide Context
Context includes knowledge of
• the topic or content
• the vocabulary and language structures in which the content is usually presented
• the social and cultural expectations associated with the content
To help students have an authentic experience of understanding and using language, prepare
them by raising their awareness of the context in which it occurs.
• Ask them what they know about the topic
• Ask what they can predict from the title or heading of a reading selection or the opening
line of a listening selection
• Review the vocabulary (including idiomatic expressions) and sentence structures that
are usually found in that type of material
• Review relevant social and cultural expectations
4. Design Activities with a Purpose
Ordinarily, communication has a purpose: to convey information. Activities in the language
classroom simulate communication outside the classroom when they are structured with such a
purpose. In these classroom activities, students use the language to fill an information gap by
getting answers or expanding a partial understanding. For example, students work in pairs, and
each is given half of a map, grid, or list needed to complete a task. The pair then talk to each
other until they both have all the information.
5. Use Task-based Activities
Fluent speakers use language to perform tasks such as solving problems, developing plans, and
working together to complete projects. The use of similar task-based activities in the classroom
is an excellent way to encourage students to use the language. Tasks may involve solving a
word problem, creating a crossword puzzle, making a video, preparing a presentation, or
drawing up a plan.
6. Encourage Collaboration
Whenever possible, ask students to work in pairs or small groups. Give students structure in the
form of a defined task and outcome. This structure will allow students to collaborate as they
develop a work plan, discuss the substance of the task, and report the outcome. They will thus
use language in a variety of ways and learn from each other.
Effective collaborative activities have three characteristics.
• Communication gap: Each student has relevant information that the others don't have
• Task orientation: Activity has a defined outcome, such as solving a problem or drawing
a map
• Time limit: Students have a preset amount of time to complete the task
7. Use an Integrated Approach
Integration has two forms. Mode integration is the combination of listening, speaking, reading,
and writing in classroom activities. By asking students to use two or more modes, instructors
create activities that imitate real world language use.
Content integration is bringing content from students' fields of study into the language
curriculum. University students often find it instructive to read, discuss, and write about
material whose content they already know, because their knowledge of the topic helps them
understand and use the language. They are able to scaffold: to build on existing knowledge as
they increase their language proficiency. For students who plan to study and/or work in a field
that will require them to use the language they are learning, integration of content can be a
powerful motivator.
8. Address Grammar Consciously
University students usually need and appreciate direct instruction in points of grammar that are
related to classroom activities. These students often have knowledge of the rules associated
with standard use of their native language (metalinguistic knowledge) and can benefit from
development of similar knowledge in the target language and discussion of similarities and
differences.
Discuss points of grammar in the contexts where they arise. Asking students to think through a
rule in the context of an effort to express themselves clearly is a more effective way of helping
them internalize the rule than teaching the rule in isolation.
Two types of grammar rules to address when using authentic materials:
• Prescriptive rules: State how the language "should" or "must" be used; define what is
"correct." These are the rules that are taught in language textbooks.
• Descriptive rules: State how the language is actually used by fluent speakers. The degree
to which descriptive rules differ from prescriptive rules depends on the setting
(casual/formal use of language), the topic, and the backgrounds of the speakers.
9. Adjust Feedback/Error Correction to Situation
In the parts of a lesson that focus on form (see Planning a Lesson), direct and immediate
feedback is needed and expected. Encourage students to self-correct by waiting after they have
spoken or by asking them to try again.
Feedback techniques:
• Paraphrase a student's utterances, modeling the correct forms
• Ask students to clarify their utterances, providing paraphrases of their own
Avoid feeding students the correct forms every time. Gradually teaching them to depend less
on you and more on themselves is what language teaching is all about.
In the parts of a lesson that focus on communication activities (see Planning a Lesson), the flow
of talk should not be interrupted by the teacher's corrections. When students address you, react
to the content of their utterances, not just the form. Your response is a useful comprehension
check for students, and on the affective level it shows that you are listening to what they say.
Make note of recurring errors you hear so that you can address them with the whole group in
the feedback session later (see Planning a Lesson).
10. Include Awareness of Cultural Aspects of Language Use
Languages are cognitive systems, but they also express ideas and transmit cultural values.
When you are discussing language use with your students, it is important to include
information on the social, cultural, and historical context that certain language forms carry for
native speakers. Often these explanations include reference to what a native speaker would hear
or say, and why.
Culture is expressed and transmitted through magazines and newspapers, radio and television
programs, movies, and the internet. Using media as authentic materials in the classroom can
expand students' perspectives and generate interesting discussions about the relationships
between language and culture.
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Instructor Self-evaluation Worksheet: Overall Language Teaching ApproachUse this worksheet to think about your overall approach to teaching language and to identify
ways you can adopt a more learner-centered methodology.
1. I talk ____ percent of the time in my classroom. My purposes for talking are:
2. My students speak individually _____ percent of the time in my classroom. Their purposes
for speaking are:
3. My students talk with one another ______ percent of the time in my classroom. Their
purposes for talking with one another are:
4. My students have a say in the material we study in these ways:
5. My students evaluate their own progress in these ways:
6. My students evaluate each others’ progress in these ways:
7. My approach is more teacher centered than learner centered in the following situations:
8. My approach is more learner centered than teacher centered in the following situations:
9. I want to make my approach more learner centered in these ways:
10. I have the following concerns or reservations about learner-centered instruction:
Instructor Self-evaluation Worksheet: Specific Lesson
Use this worksheet to think about a specific lesson that you have taught. It can also help you
think through a lesson that you plan to teach.
1. What finely-tuned input did I provide? How much? How did I determine that it was finely
tuned?
2. What roughly-tuned input did I provide? How much? How did I determine that it was
appropriate for my students?
3. Was my use of oral language authentic? Did I distort sounds by slowing my speech? Did I use
repetition and restatement to help students understand?
4. How did I provide context for the material that we covered in class?
5. What was the purpose of the activities we did in the classroom? How did I convey that
purpose to the students?
6. What task-based activity did I use? What information gap was involved? What was the
required product or outcome?
7. How did students collaborate during different parts of the lesson?
8. Which language modes were integrated in classroom activities, and how?
9. When did we address specific grammar topics? Who asked questions? Who provided
answers?
10. When did students ask for feedback? What kind of feedback did they request? How did I
provide it?
11. When did I provide feedback that students had not requested? How did I provide it?
12. How did I include awareness of cultural aspects of language use in the lesson?
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Supervisor Observation Worksheet
Use this worksheet when observing a teacher’s classroom performance to provide feedback on
specific teaching styles and behaviors. Whenever possible, give specific examples.
1. What finely-tuned input did the teacher provide? How much? Was this input appropriate for
the students?
2. What roughly-tuned input did the teacher provide? How much? Was this input appropriate
for the students?
3. In what ways was the teacher’s use of oral language authentic? In what ways was it not
authentic?
4. How did the teacher provide context for the material that was covered in class?
5. What was the purpose of classroom activities? How did the teacher convey that purpose to
the students?
6. What task-based activity was used? What information gap was involved? What was the
required product or outcome?
7. How did students collaborate during different parts of the lesson?
8. Which language modes were integrated in classroom activities, and how?
9. When did the class address specific grammar topics? Who asked questions? Who provided
answers?
10. When did students ask for feedback? What kind of feedback did they request? How did the
instructor provide it?
11. When and how did the instructor provide feedback that students had not requested?
12. How did the instructor include awareness of cultural aspects of language use in the lesson?
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13. The instructor talked ______ percent of the time. Individual students spoke ______ percent
of the time. Students talked with one another ______ percent of the time.
14. The percentages listed in #13 were appropriate because
15. The percentages listed in #13 could have been changed in the following ways:
16. This instructor’s teaching method is teacher centered in these ways:
17. This instructor’s teaching method is learner centered in these ways:
18. Suggestions for making teaching more learner centered:
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