Teach English in Binhai Lǚyouqu [Binhai Tourist Area] - Tianjin

2nd language teaching acquisitionThe way in which human beings learn, understand and are able to communicate through language is still very much a mystery. Many theories have been researched, but a ?recipe? for language learning still eludes academics charged with discovery. Without this ?recipe? to help unravel the mysteries of first language acquisition, the challenge of teaching and learning a second language seem all the greater. This essay will discuss the key areas of second language acquisition, and briefly outline and summarise the debate surrounding the traditional audio-lingual method and the contemporary alternative of communicative language teaching. The learner?s acquisition of the target language is the ultimate goal of the second language teacher. The theory of communicative competence contends that language learning is most successful through an emphasis on meaning, through practice in real life contexts, and that the integrative manner of this learning is by unconscious assimilation. (Krashen, 1981) To further this statement, Krashen identifies two ways in which students develop competence in a second language; either through acquisition, where the learner subconsciously ?picks up? a language, and language learning whereby the learner has ?conscious knowledge of a second language, knowing the rules, is aware of them, and is able to talk about them.?(Krashen, 1981, p.64)In addition, Krashen describes the ?internalization? phase of the dimensions of learning model ? (Marzano et al., 1997, p.110), as knowledge becomes increasingly automated, and can be used without much conscious thought. This approach to constructing declarative knowledge and then integrating and refining into it procedural knowledge seems to be an effective way of bridging the gap between the two and contributing to the overall goal of acquiring communicative competence in the target language. This process of acquiring procedural and declarative knowledge is the focus of the learning manager?s tools of trade: the learning experience plan. An effective learning program that develops declarative and procedural knowledge will need to utilise several different complementary second language teaching methodologies. The challenge for the learning manager is to select methodologies that will work in tandem. A combination of traditional and contemporary approaches can offer a solution as the disadvantages of one method can be balanced by the advantages of another. Two such complementary methodologies are audiolingualism and communicative language teaching. Audiolingualism is based in Skinner?s theory of Behaviourism (1957, as cited in Harmer, 2007, p.52). Behaviouralist theories suggest that conditioning occurs through three steps: stimulus, response and reinforcement. Supporters believe that language learning can be compared to any other physical learning, whereby the physical repetition of a performance will cause it to become autonomous. Cognitive theories, on the other hand, approach the learner as active processors of information and attest that language learning requires the learner to be an active analyser of information. (Ausebel et al., 1978), thinking about what, where and how to use the data learnt. Communicative language teaching falls into this Cognitivist bracket. Audiolingualism uses repetitious drills and chants to focus on accuracy and lessons based in this style involve students listening repeatedly to recorded dialogue and endeavouring to exactly reproduce the grammar and pronunciation heard. Small changes within the chants build knowledge slowly, and the safety of a group chant protect from public embarrassment of a mistake. The added benefits of audiolingualism being easy to teach and the ease of organisation of the classroom have meant that this technique is still widely used today. Within the framework of Dimensions of Learning (Marzano et al., 1997), audiolingualism also finds merit ? for although repetitious learning can be viewed as non-cognitive, it allows students to classify similar patterns of grammar by using the complex reasoning processes of comparing and contrasting. After rote learning of sentences with verbs for example, a verb is removed from a sentence, and the student can recognise the grammatical pattern by comparing the sentence to what they have heard and learnt, allowing them to correctly substitute the verb. The other major advantage is the proven success for this method to effectively build declarative knowledge. A serious disadvantage of this style of learning is the learner?s lack of comprehension of the material they are learning ? there is no context given and there will be communicative gaps in the learner?s understanding. (Liu & Shi, 2007) When this traditional method is married with the modern approach of communicative language teaching, which focuses on interaction as both the means and the goal of language instruction, these disadvantages can be overcome. The emphasis of communicative language teaching is as a cognitive method for the learners to create meaning rather than grammatical accuracy (Mangubhai, marland, Dashwood, & Son, 2007). Lessons conducted this way are task based and generally aim to recreate real life situations and authentic texts. Lessons often involve group or pair work, role play and fluency activities that require information exchange and cooperation between learners. This type of learning is supported by educational theories Ivan Illich (1972, p.56), who describes the learning process as: ?the human activity which needs least manipulation by others. Most leraning is not the result of instruction. It is rather the result of unhampered participation in a meaningful setting.? Disadvantages of this method can be the lack of focus of the grammatical accuracy of the language, as well as the implementation of this style in certain cultures, where they may be uncomfortable with the structure. In order to overcome the disadvantages of each approach, combining both methods of teaching would allow the learning manager to vary between communicative and non-communicative styles of instruction, and to balance the needs of the learner to create and be motivated by an ?information gap? with the desirable acquisition of some grammatical accuracy. The final consideration is one of the individual learner?s needs within any generalisations: age, gender, cultural experience, personal language goals, environment and resources are all factors which will impact planning the learning experience and the program. References Anderson, J. (1983) The architecture of cognition. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. Krashen, S.D. (1981). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. London, UK: Prentice-Hall International. Liu, Q., & Shi, J. (2007) An analysis of language teaching approaches and methods ? effectiveness and weakness. US-China Education Review, 4 (1), 69-71. Marzano, R., Pickering, D., Arredondo, D., Blackburn, G., Brandt., R., Moffett, C., et al. (1997) Dimensions of learning: Teacher?s manual (2nd Ed.) Aurora, Colorado, usa: McRel. Mangubhai, F., Marland, P., Dashwood, A., & Son, J. (2007) Framing communicative language teaching for better teacher understanding. Issues in Educational Research. 17(1), 85-106.