Theories of Teaching in Language Teaching Chapter 2

Theories of teaching (Zahorik, 1986) Science-research conceptions Theory-philosophy conceptions Art-craft conceptions

Science-research conceptions Audiolingualism, Task-based Language Teaching, and Learner Training Pretest---treatment (experiment or empirical investigation)---post test

Audiolingualism derived from research on learning associated with behavioral psychology, a process of habit formation, target language were presented for memorization and learning through drills Stimulus (treatment)--serve to elicit behavior, response

Reinforcement—serve to mark the response as being appropriate or inappropriate and encourage the repetition or suppression the response in the future.

Task-based Language Teaching SLA shows that successful language learning involves learners in negotiation of meaning. Learners learn through tasks that facilitate practice of both of language forms and communicative functions.

Learning Training cognitive styles and learning strategies that learners use when carrying out different classroom learning tasks. This research may involve observing learners, asking them to introspect about their learning strategies, or probing learners in other ways.

Applying the results of empirical or experimental research Teacher training modules could affect teaching behaviors and the behaviors affected student participation patterns (language acquisition) Teachers’ question patterns (display questions or referential questions) Teacher’s waiting time (longer waiting time)

Studying the practices of effective teachers Identifying effective teachers (organizing instruction, structuring teaching activities, enhancing student performance on tasks) Studying their teaching practices Interview teachers, observe the teachers’ teaching, interview the students (or….) See p. 21, twelve characteristics of effective teaching

Theory-philosophy conceptions Values-based approaches: derived from beliefs about what is viewed as morally right Communicative Language Teaching and the Silent Way, based on a set of carefully elaborated assumptions.

Communicative Language Teaching Critiquing the inadequacy of the linguistic and pedagogical theory underlying grammar-based approaches. The principle of CLT is that communication competence needed for participation includes not only grammatical competence, but pragmatic competence, which are grammatical competence sociocultrual competence, strategic competence, discourse competence.

Values-based approaches: developing a teaching model from the values one holds about teachers, learners, classrooms, and the role of education in society. In some situation, this leads to certain approaches to teaching being viewed as politically justify and others seen as not morally, ethically, or politically supportable.

For example, team teaching, humanistic approaches, learner-centered curriculum, reflective teaching

Art-craft conceptions View teaching as an art or craft, and as something which depends on the teacher’s individual skill and personality. Teaching is a unique set of personal skills which teachers apply in different ways according to the demands of specific situations. No general methods of teaching; teachers develop an approach that allows them to be themselves and do what they feel is best.

Therefore, teacher decision-making is an essential competency in this approach because a good teacher is seen as one who analyses a situation, realize that a range of options is available based on the particular class circumstances, and then select an alternative which his likely to be most effective for the circumstances.

Essential skills of teaching Science-research conceptions: Understand the learning principles Develop tasks and activities based on the learning principles Monitor students performance on tasks to see that desired performance is being achieved

Theory-philosophy conceptions Understand the theory and the principles Select syllabus, materials, and tasks based on the theory Monitor your teaching to see that it conforms to the theory

Art- craft conceptions Treat each teaching situation as unique Identify the particular characteristics of each situation Try out different teaching strategies Develop personal approaches to teaching