1. WEEK 5
1.1. Definition of Approaches, methods, procedures, and techniques.
1.1.1. Theory of Foreign Languages Teaching and Learning.
1.1.1.1. Is an overall plan for the orderly presentation of language material, no part of which contradicts, and all of which is based upon, the selected approach. An approach is axiomatic, a method is procedural. Whitin one approach, there can be many methods.
1.1.2. Components of a method
1.1.2.1. Syllabus is the level at which theory is put into practice and at which choices are made about the content to be taught, the skills to be developed, the order of the content etc.
1.1.2.2. The theory of language adopted will affect the organisation and selection of language content.
1.1.2.3. Different methods have different types of syllabi associated with them i.e. different ways of selecting and organising content.
1.1.3. Teaching/Learning Practices
1.1.3.1. Types of learning tasks and activities to be used in the classroom.
1.1.3.2. Roles of learners in the classroom: the degree of control that learners have over their learning, roles that learners will assume in the classroom, learning groupings recommended.
1.1.3.3. Roles of teachers: functions that the teacher is to fulfil in the classroom, the degree to which the teacher influences the learning process and the kind of interaction between the teacher and the learners.
1.1.3.4. Role of materials: the function of materials in the learning process and the forms they take. In some methods, materials are designed to replace the teacher so that learning can take place independently.
1.1.4. What is a Technique?
1.1.4.1. Is implementational -that which actually takes place in a classroom. It is a particular trick, stratagem, or contrivance used to accomplish an immediate objective. Techniques must be consistent with a method, and therefore in harmony with an approach as well.
1.1.5. What is a procedure?
1.1.5.1. The actual moment-to-moment techniques, practices, and behaviors that operate in teaching a language according to a particular method are termed “procedure”.
2. WEEK 4
2.1. THEORIES OF TEACHING & LEARNING
2.1.1. From a philosophical perspective, learning can be discussed under the heading of epistemology, which refers to the study of the origin, nature, limits, and methods of knowledge.
2.1.2. Rationalism
2.1.2.1. Is the doctrine that knowledge arises through the mind. Although there is an external world from which people acquire sensory information, ideas originate from the workings of the mind.
2.1.3. Empiricism
2.1.3.1. It holds that experience is the onlyform of knowledge, empiricists have contended that the external world serves as the basis for people’s impressions.
2.1.4. Behaviorism
2.1.4.1. Classical Conditioning – Pavlov
2.1.4.1.1. A stimulus is presented in order to get a response
2.1.4.2. Operant Conditioning - Skinner
2.1.4.2.1. The response is made first, then reinforcement follows.
2.1.5. Cognitivism
2.1.5.1. • Grew in response to Behaviorism • Knowledge is stored cognitively as symbols • Learning is the process of connecting symbols in a meaningful & memorable way • Studies focused on the mental processes that facilitate symbol connection
3. WEEK 1
3.1. TEACHING OVERVIEW
3.1.1. What is language?
3.1.2. A systematic means of communicating ideas or feelings by the use of conventionalized signs, sounds, gestures, or marks having understood meanings. -Merriam Webster
3.1.3. Is a complex, specialized skill, which develops in the child spontaneously, without conscious effort or formal instruction, is deployed without an awareness of its underlying logic, is qualitatively the same in every individual, and is distinct from more general abilities to process information or behave intelligently. -Stiven Pinker
3.1.4. What is teaching?
3.1.4.1. The occupation, profession, or work of a teacher.
3.1.4.2. Showing or helping someone to learn how to do something, giving instructions, guiding in the study of something, providing with knowledge, causing to know or understand.
3.1.5. What is learning?
3.1.5.1. The acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience, study, or by being taught.
3.1.5.2. Knowledge acquired through experience, study, or being taught.
3.1.5.3. Acquiring knowledge of a subject or a skill by study, experience, or instruction”
4. WEEK 2
4.1. What is teaching/learning?
4.1.1. Teaching
4.1.1.1. Teaching is the process of attending to people’s needs, experiences and feelings, and intervening so that they learn particular things.
4.1.1.2. Meanings and Terms
4.1.1.2.1. Impart knowledge to or instruct (someone) as to how to do something.
4.1.1.2.2. Cause (someone) to learn or understand something by example or experience.
4.1.2. Learning
4.1.2.1. Learning is a process that leads to change, which occurs as a result of experience and increases the potential for improved performance and future learning.
4.1.2.2. The word learning is used routinely in discussions about teaching in higher education, so it’s important to clarify what we are referring to when we talk about learning.
4.1.2.3. Learning is a process that:
4.1.2.3.1. Is active. (Dewey, 1938; Piaget, 1964; Vygotsky, 1986).
4.1.2.3.2. Builds on prior knowledge. (Alexander, 1996, p. 89).
4.1.2.3.3. Occurs in a complex social environment. (Bransford, et al., 2006; Rogoff, 1998)
4.1.2.3.4. Is situated in an authentic context. (Greeno, 2006; Kolodner, 2006).
5. WEEK 3
5.1. Acquisition and Learning
5.1.1. Language acquisition
5.1.1.1. The process by which humans acquire the capacity to perceive, produce and use words to understand and communicate.
5.1.1.1.1. Theoretical Approaches
5.1.1.2. Stages in language acquisition
5.1.1.2.1. Pre-speech: Infants learn to pay attention to speech and children learn to recognize the distinctive sounds.
5.1.1.2.2. Babbling stage: Begins at several months of age and many native speech sounds may be absent.
5.1.1.2.3. One word (holophrastic) stage: Infants may utter their first word as early as nine months: usually mama, dada.
5.1.1.2.4. Combining words: 18 months - 2 years. By two and a half years most children speak in sentences of several words.
5.1.2. Language Learning
5.1.2.1. Krashen’s Theory
5.1.2.1.1. Acquisition: the product of a subconscious process that occurs in a natural environment out of the learner’s need to communicate.
5.1.2.1.2. Learning: the product of formal instruction and it comprises a conscious process which results in conscious knowledge.
5.1.2.2. Factors that influence Language Learning
5.1.2.2.1. First language experiences.
5.1.2.2.2. Language distance and attitude.
5.1.2.2.3. Access to the language.
5.1.2.2.4. Age of acquisition.
5.1.2.2.5. Personality and learning styles.
5.1.2.2.6. Peers and role models.
5.1.2.2.7. Quality of instruction.