Linguistics 445/545: Second language teaching methods Winter 1998


Instructor: Dr. Patricia L. Rounds
Lectures: Mondays and Wednesdays; 4:00-5:20
154 Straub
Office hours: Wednesday, 2:30-3:30; Friday, 10:30-11:30, and by appointment 257 Straub Hall; 346-3907
GTF: Tim Thornes
Discussions: Thursday 4:00-4:50 330 Condon
Friday 4:30-5:20 202 Chapman
Office hours: Thursday 3:30-4:30/Friday 3:00-4:00
Straub 231; 346-5918; tthornes@oregon.uoregon.edu


Course Description:
This course examines the major means by which teachers have tried to teach second/foreign languages. It introduces the basic theoretical issues in modern language teaching and, as such, provides a bridge between the theory of second language acquisition and second language classroom practice. It is specifically designed to help you gain an understanding of the major teaching and research issues in the field of second/foreign language pedagogy so that you have a firm foundation for f urther development as a professional language instructor. It will provide you an opportunity to examine and integrate your past and present teaching and learning experiences with an understanding of the theory of language learning and teaching.
The course has two themes. One is a historical overview of trends in language teaching, and an analysis of the theories of language and language learning that form their bases. The other theme of the course is an exploration of issues and an evalu ation of materials for second language instruction in the basics of grammar and vocabulary, as well as the four skill areas, i.e. reading, writing, speaking and listening. Integration of the skills in task-based learning, project work, and content-based instruction will also be explored.
(Note: A continuation of this course, Linguistics 446/546 Second Language Teaching Practice, is offered during the Spring term in the Linguistics Department. In that class you will learn how to apply the principles you learn this term.)

Course Goals: By the end of this course, you should be able to
1. identify, compare, and contrast differing models of language teaching, and apply such knowledge to an increased understanding of your own teaching practice;
2. understand and discuss intelligently the pedagogical literature on the teaching of grammar and vocabulary, and the component language skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing across the second language curriculum;
3. articulate a rational basis for the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of instructional materials for second language learning;
4. gain the ability to analyze language teaching techniques and materials for their strengths and weaknesses and for the teaching situations to which they are most suited;
5. identify relevant resources for future research reference and professional development in the field of second language teaching and learning, in particular learning how to access resources available through the internet.


Materials:
A. There are two required textbooks:
1. Richards, J.C., & Rogers, T.S. (1989). Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
2. Nunan, D. (1991). Language Teaching Methodology. London: Prentice-Hall.
B. There is one optional textbook and an optional (but highly recommended) dictionary:
1. Larsen-Freeman, D. (1986). Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching. New York: Oxford University Press.
2. Richards, et. al. (1987). Longman Dictionary of Applied Linguistics.
C. There is a (small) required course packet:
1. Ling: 445/545: Observation module materials
Requirements: A basic philosophy of this class is LEARNING BY DOING. Therefore, the class format will be as experiential as possible: demonstrations, analyses, and critique. Because what goes on in class is meant to involve you as a language learner/t eacher, class attendance is extremely important. Furthermore, the ability to intelligently analyze and critique what we do in class is dependent on your maintaining your background reading schedule. You are responsible for information in the reading ass ignments even if we haven't discussed a particular point in class. Be sure to ask about anything you find problematic in the reading or anything that you feel conflicts with what you hear in class.

Evaluation:
1. Observation reports (two) 20% Due March 2, 4:00, in-class
2. Midterm examination 30%
3. Project 50%
Oral presentation 10% Due March 9 or 11, in-class
"Written" presentation 40% Due March 20, 1:00, 257 Straub
(NB you will provide both hard copy and diskette copy of your project. We will be working on developing a website for the materials you produce--if you'd like to help with this effort, let us know.
Description of the observation reports: You will learn how to do this assignment in the discussion sections, where a great deal of time will be devoted to training you to become a skilled classroom observer, i.e. a person who is able to observe with und erstanding. As part of this training you will view videotapes of real classes, fill out observation sheets, and discuss and compare your observations with your classmates and GTF. When you go to actual classes to observe, it will be important for you to remember that you will be an outsider who has been granted permission to view the workings of a "mini-culture." Therefore, it will be very important for you to respect that culture ; consider this a cross-cultural experience. Jong-Bai will facilitate your observations through the different language departments, and you will be carefully instructed on how to be a good cross-cultural observer.


Description of the midterm: This will be a rather late in-class, closed-book exam, given during the 50-minute discussion section. The purpose of the exam is for you to review and synthesize the historical backgound, methods, and teaching principles we w ill have covered, and to make sure you are reasonably conversant with the special purpose vocabulary of this profession. The exam will consist of some objective, yet analytic, questions. The questions are designed to get you to think about how various m ethods and techniques relate to a given issue or problem in language teaching.

Description of the project: We will be introducing the options you will have for satisfying this requirement in the internet orientation sessions during the first week of class. The overall goal for the projects is to familiarize you with CALL and the r esources available on the internet for language teachers. The options essentially consist of:
1. a traditional paper, but using some resources from the internet (see descriptions below)
2. development of a multimedia teaching unit based at least in part on resources available on the internet
3. an extended observation/participation in an AEI CALL course (+ write up).
(Note: If the scope of what you want to do is quite large, we can consider the option of a team/group project. See me if you want to take up this option.)

Paper option for 445 students: This paper is an opportunity for you to read more in-depth on a topic in second language teaching that is of special interest to you. The topic might or might not be one that we touch on in class, but should be centrally lo cated in the area of second language teaching. You will focus on a particular issue in second language teaching (please don't feel confined to the list of suggested topics below), and frame a question or questions in your area of interest that your paper will seek to answer. Questions might be historical in nature, e.g. How has the place of pronunciation teaching changed with changes in language teaching approach? Or they might be synchronic, e.g. What are the principles guiding English for Specific Purposes curriculum development, and how are they operationalized?
Please have your topic "cleared" by Jon-Bai or me to make sure it meets the intent of the assignment.
Your paper will clearly indicate the question(s) you plan to explore and why you chose this area (for example, some experience in your own language learning history), responses that the literature has provided, and your reactions to the literature, i ncluding what you see as useful to you as a teacher, and the areas that you believe need more attention and/or research.
Your paper will be a maximum of ten double-spaced pages (with normal margins and 12-point font). You must read 5 to 8 articles from reputable applied linguistics journals (see suggested list) or collected works volumes, INCLUDING AT LEAST 2 RESOURCE S YOU GET FROM THE NET. If you want to read in another type of book, estimate a fair equivalent or negotiate with one of us. Of chief importance is to gain a wide variety of perspectives, so don't plan on reading only one or two authors. Please use the APA format for your citations; see any recent TESOL Quarterly article as a model. Include a WEBLIOGRAPHY of your internet resources The oral presentation will take place in class. Essentially you will prepare a visual representation (i.e. poster) of your report and be prepared to give a short orientation and answer questions on your topic. You can consider it to be an oral firs t draft of your paper.

Paper option for 545 students: As with the assignment for 445, this paper is an opportunity for you to read more in-depth on a topic in second language teaching that is of special interest to you. However, as a graduate student it is important that you b egin to focus on the research side of language teaching, too. If this were a 14 week class, I would ask you to actually design and carry out a research paper; since this is only a 10 week course I am asking you to design a project, but you will not carry it out (...this term. I hope you will at some future date.) The topic might or might not be one that we touch on in class, but should be centrally located in the area of second language teaching. You will focus on a particular issue in second language teaching (please don't feel confined to the list of suggested topics below), and frame a question or questions that your research proposal is designed to answer. Please have your proposal "cleared" by me to make sure it meets the intent of the assignme nt.
Your paper will have 4 parts:
1. 100 word abstract: should summarize the proposal's discussion of points 2-4 below.
2. Conception and definition of the project: describe the specific research planned, including an explanation of the basic ideas, problems or questions to be explored.
3. Plan of work and methodology: outline the plan of work or research methodology appropriate to your project. Address if applicable: What are the stages to be carried out and what is planned for each stage? Where will the study be conducted? What k inds of data analysis will be conducted? What performances, products or other outcomes can be expected.
4. Significance of the project: emphasize the significance of the proposed work and its anticipated contribution to the state of knowledge or practice in the field of second language learning and teaching.
Your paper will be a maximum of fifteen double-spaced pages (with normal margins and 12-point font). Take some time to browse through recent journals and collected volumes (several are on reserve in the library) to see what questions second language professionals are asking and how they are attempting to answer them. You must read 8 to 10 articles from reputable applied linguistics journals (see suggested list) or collected works volumes, INCLUDING AT LEAST 2 RESOURCES YOU GET FROM THE NET. If you want to read in another type of book, estimate a fair equivalent or negotiate with one of us. Of chief importance is to gain a wide variety of perspectives, so don't plan on reading only one or two authors. Please use the APA format for your citations; see any recent TESOL Quarterly article as a model. Include a WEBLIOGRAPHY of your internet resources The oral presentation will take place in class. Essentially you will prepare a visual representation (i.e. poster) of your proposal and be prepared to give a short orientation and answer questions on your topic. You can consider it to be an oral first d raft of your paper.
Options 2 and 3: These are less traditional options for a grade and therefor not as easily described. To keep in the spirit of the assignment, the end product should essentially represent an effort equal to or greater than what is expected for the 445 a nd 545 paper options described above. To make sure that you are in compliance with this expectation, establish and maintain a dialogue with Jong-Bai and me regarding your work.
Topics addressed by prior students include:

Acquisition and teaching of vocabulary
Product vs. process in teaching writing
How to respond to student writing
How to teach language through content
What is the role of peers in the writing revision process
Teaching literature in the second language classroom
Cross-cultural rhetoric
Teaching the spoken language
Teaching pronunciation
Task-based learning
What can we do to make listening easier/harder?
Accuracy and fluency in communicative language teaching
Issues in language testing
Issues and design of English for Specific Purposes courses
Computer assisted language learning
What is the role of grammar teaching in CLT
Using simulations in language teaching


A partial list of periodicals:

Applied Linguistics
Applied Psycholinguistics
CAELL (=Computer-Assisted English Language Learning) Journal
Canadian Modern Language Review
College Composition and Communication
College English
Computing Teacher
Contemporary Education
Discourse Processes
ELT (=English Language Teaching) Journal
ESP (=English for Specific Purposes) Journal
English Teaching Forum
Foreign Language Annals
Interlanguage Studies Bulletin
International Review of Applied Linguistics
JALT (=Japan Association of Language Teachers) Journal
Journal of Basic Writing
Journal of Educational Research
Journal of Research on Computing in Education
Language in Society
Language Learning
Language Testing
Modern Language Journal
Sercond Language Research
Studies in Second Language Acquisition
TESOL Quarterly
TESOL Newsletter/TESOL Matters
TESOL Journal

Schedule

Week 1: January 5, 7
Focus: Introduction; Needs analysis; Approach, design, procedure; Structural-primacy teaching methods: Grammar-Translation
Reading: R & R, Ch 1 (pp.1-7 only), Ch 2

Week 2: January 12, 14
Focus a: (Continuation of) Structural-primacy teaching methods: Oral/Situational Approach & the Audiolingual Method Reading: R & R, Ch 3, 4; Nunan pp. 228-234
Focus b: Communicative approaches: The Direct Method,
Reading: R & R, Ch 1 (pp. 9-11), Ch 9, [Day article in packet for discussion section]

Week 3: January 21 (No class January 20)
Focus: (Continuation of) Communicative approaches: The Communicative Language Teaching, The Natural Approach
Reading: Ch 5, Ch 9, Nunan pp.240-244

Week 4: January 26, 28
Focus: Issues in teaching listening
Reading: Nunan, Ch. 2

Week 5: February 2, 4
Focus: Issues in teaching speaking
Reading: Nunan, Ch. 3

Week 6: February 9, 11
Focus: Issues in teaching reading
Focus: Issues in teaching writing
Reading: Nunan, Ch. 4, 5

Week 7: February 16, 18
Focus: Two language teaching "cults": Comprehension-based: Total Physical Response; Production-based: The Silent Way
Reading: R & R, Ch. 6, 7; Nunan pp. 234-239
Midterm in discussion sections February 19, 20

Week 8: February 23, 25
Focus: Issues in teaching pronunciation
Focus: Issues in teaching vocabulary
Reading: Nunan, Ch. 6, Ch. 7
Observation reports due March 2, 4:00, in-class

Week 9: March 2, 4
Focus: The role of grammar in language teaching
Reading: Nunan, Ch. 8

Week 10: March 9, 11
Focus: Oral presentations
Project reports due March 20 at 1:00 in 257 Straub