Basic theories of language and language learning in FLT

There is a wide variety of methodological options, approaches, methods and techniques that a classroom teacher has to choose from. Methodology in language teaching has been characterized in a variety of ways but more or less classical formulation suggests the link between theory and practice. The theoretical background, philosophy of language teaching is called approach whereas a concretization of these theoretical issues and beliefs on paper is labeled method. Technique in its turn is implementation of the ideas in the classroom setting. The terms methods and approaches are often used interchangeably but still there is a distinction which is probably best seen as a continuum ranging from highly prescribed methods to loosely described approaches.

According to Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers, different methods and approaches vary in:

•their focus and goals;

•views of teacher and learner roles;

•typical techniques and forms of interaction;

•attitude to errors and use of mother tongue;

•role of instructional materials, etc.

Approaches are based on different theories of language and language learning. Basic theories of the nature of language are structural, functional and interactional.

The first and the most traditional of the three is the structural theory that views language as a system of structurally related elements such as phonemes, morphemes, words, word-combinations and sentence types. Each language has a finite number of such structural items. To learn a language means to learn these structural items so as to be able to understand and produce language. An important belief of structural linguists was that the primary medium of a language is oral. Therefore, it was assumed that oral speech had a priority in language teaching. The linguistic principles of structuralizm are as follows:

•language is speech, not writing;

•language is a set of habits;

•learning a language entails mastering the elements or building blocks of the language and learning the rules of their combinations.

The functional view of language understands language as a vehicle for the expression of functional meaning. Language is not speech, language functions in speech, proclaimed the proponents of the view. Most of our day-to-day language usage involves functional activities: offering, suggesting, advising, apologizing, etc. Therefore, learners learn a language in order to apply it in their real life as a means for doing things. To perform functions, learners need to know how to combine the grammatical rules and the vocabulary to express notions that perform the functions. Examples of notions are concept of present, past and future time; the expressions of certainty and possibility; the roles of agent and instrument within a sentence; and special relationships between people and objects.

Proponents of the view consider functions and notions as the basis of human language and communicative activity.

According to the interactional view, a language is an important medium in human communication and interpersonal relations, with the help of which people build up and maintain social interaction. Therefore, learners have to know not only the grammar and vocabulary of the language but also the rules of using them in a whole range of communicative contexts.

Structural, functional and interactional models of language provide the theoretical framework that may motivate a particular teaching method, but without theories of language learning successful language teaching would be incomplete. A great deal of research has been done in the subject and certain theories have had a profound effect upon the practices of language teaching. With reference to Jeremy Harmer we can name five of them:

•Behaviorist/stimulus-response theory;

•Cognitivism/mentalism;

•Language acquisition theory;

•Task-based theory;

•Humanistic aspects of learning.

Behaviorism and cognitivism are the terms used to describe a philosophy of mind. Behaviorists seek to understand human nature by observing how people act and interact. While cognitive science seeks to understand the mechanics of our brains, the behaviorist tradition sees the mind as a "black box." Behaviorists understand the mind by observing its input and output, rather than by dissecting its contents. The theory is associated with B.F. Skinner, who claimed that our minds emerge from the influence of our environment and that all language was a form of behavior. The human being was understood as an organism capable of a wide repertoire of behaviours. The occurrence of these behaviours is dependent upon three crucial elements in learning:

A stimulus, which serves to elicit behaviour (in language teaching - what is taught or presented in the foreign language);

A response triggered by a stimulus (learner's reaction to the stimulus);

Reinforcement, which serves to mark the response as being appropriate (or inappropriate), and encourages the repetition (or suggestion) of the response in future.

In the 1950s Skinner's work was challenged by Noam Chomsky, who thought that human minds are very structured, and that language emerges from patterns inside the brain. He proposed an alternative theory to behaviorism - the theory of cognitivism. The main principle was the contradiction that language is not a form of behavior, it is an intricate rule-based system and a large part of language acquisition is the learning of this system. Language learner acquires language competence, which enables him to produce language. Learners do not have to imitate behavior, but create language structures from abstract rules.

Language acquisition theory (Stephen d. Krashen) states that adults have two distinct and independent ways of developing competence in a second language. The first way is language acquisition, a subconscious process similar, if not identical, to the way children develop ability in their first language. It is implicit, informal and natural learning, "picking-up" a language when language acquirers are aware of the fact that they are using language for communication. The second way to develop competence in FLT is by language learning. The term learning refers to conscious knowledge of foreign language, knowing the rules, being aware of grammar, and being able to talk about them, "knowing about" a language. Acquiring a language is more successful and longer lasting than learning it, in Krashen’s opinion.

The theory of Task-Based Learning (TBL) is focused not so much on the nature of language input but rather on the learning tasks that students are involved in. Tasks in TBL are understood as activities where the target language is used by the learner for a communicative purpose in order to achieve an outcome. Six types of tasks can be distinguished within the framework: listing, ordering and sorting, comparing, problem solving, sharing personal experiences, creative tasks (projects). Teacher’s job is to maximize opportunities for learners to put their limited language to genuine use and to create a more effective learning environment. TBL is essentially different from another very common paradigm for language teaching - that of PPP (presentation, practice, production). Offering an alternative framework to the PPP model, TBL is based on the principles of learner-based approach.

Another perspective which has gained increasing prominence in language teaching is that of humanistic aspects of learning when the student is viewed as a whole person. In other words, language teaching is the area where students can develop their personalities. The experience of learners, their needs and ideas are cherished. The encouragement of positive feelings and emotions is seen to be as important as their learning of language. Thus, creating a relaxing, supportive atmosphere, positive rapport between teacher and learners, favourable student-centered activities are characteristic features of humanistic teaching, which follows the principles:

•the development of human values;

•growth in self-awareness and in the understanding of others;

•sensitivity to human feelings and emotions;

•active student involvement in learning and in the way learning takes place.

Дата добавления: 2017-01-13