The Effectiveness of Blended Learning in a Higher Education

The Effectiveness of Blended Learning in a Higher Education

 

Science and technology has dramatically changed in almost all aspect in our life, including education. These changes mostly have objectives to improve the quality of our education. There are some technologies and science which are developed together, such as learning media, learning techniques, learning strategies, and curriculum. Those kinds of learning tool will help students to develop their achievements. In the past, learning means there is a meeting in class between teacher and students to discuss the material based on the curriculum. But nowadays, because of the development of science and technology, learning doesn’t use an old school way anymore. Learning utilizes the electronic media such E-Learning. E-Learning derives from the words electronic and learning. By using electronic media, learning will be held effectively. One of the electronic media which is mostly used is computer, and the program is called E-Learning. E-Learning based on New Zealand Department of Education (2004) means learning that is enabled or supported by the use of digital tools and content. It typically involves some form of interactivity, which may include on-line interaction between learners and their teacher or peers. The discovery of E-learning is so helpful for education, because learning will not only be held in class, but in case you’re in such condition and you’re not able to attend school meeting, E-Learning is the answer. But the application of E-Learning in Indonesia doesn’t give a good result because of some reasons, such as most of students don’t have computer, the teachers don’t master the computer program, and there isn’t any internet access for many remote area. Because of that reasons, E-Learning without any face-to-face meeting can’t be held in Indonesia. Blended Learning is the answer of those problems. Pensylvania State University (2009) explains that blended learning approach combines face to face classroom methods with computer-mediated activities to form integrated instructional approach. By using blended learning, face-to-face learning is combined with E-Learning so that learning will be held effectively. Learning contains once face-to-face meeting and the other activity can be done on-line.

This essay has some objectives:

1. The best way in learning language
2. The concept of blended learning
3. The advantages and disadvantages of blended learning

Science and technology in education are designed and develop to fulfill the people needs in learning. They are developed to create the more efficient and effective learning process. According to the University of Wolverhampton (2010) blended learning is an approach to learning and teaching which combines and aligns learning undertaken in face-to-face sessions with learning opportunities created online. Nowadays people need the learning process which is more effective and efficient. The learning that still need the participation of the teacher and also peers, but also additional media which support learning needs. In a higher education and also big strides country, learning can’t be held in a traditional way, such as meeting in a class everyday between teacher and students. They need the more sophisticated learning strategy. To fulfill their needs, scientist made some research in education, and the answer is Blended learning. Blended learning compares the old class meeting with online interaction. The purpose of blended learning is to intersect best aspects of face to face with online learning. In the class students are served with interactive learning experience. Then online course enriches learning experience with the availability of resources and multimedia wherever students are, either in computer labs, café, shopping mall, or home (Hartoyo). A class in which for example needs 3 meetings for English language subject, by using Blended learning, it just needs 1 face-to-face meeting to discuss the material, and the difficulties; and the other meeting such as presenting the materials, collecting the assignment by using online. The online portion of the course can provide students with multimedia-rich content anytime and anywhere the student has internet access, from computer labs, the coffee shop, or the students’ homes. This allows for an increase in scheduling flexibility for students (Hartoyo). Students can access their material, and also can do their assignment and discussion anytime and anywhere they can without ignoring feedback from the teacher. The students don’t have to worry if they have any difficulties because teacher can also give feedback by online directly on their work. If there is any difficulty which can’t be solved yet, they will discuss it in class. Blended learning is a real solution for higher education which needs the more effective and efficient learning.

On Discrool’s summary of her book (2002), she identifies 4 concepts denoted by the term of blended learning:

1. Combining or mixing web-based technology to accomplish an educational goal.
2. Combining pedagogical approaches (e.g. constructivism, behaviorism, cognitivism) to produce.
3. An optimal learning outcome with or without instructional technology.
4. Combining form of instructional technology with face-to-face instructor-led training
5. Combining instructional technology with actual job task.

Osguthrobe and Graham (2003) identified 6 reasons why blended learning is recommended:

1. Enriching education

Enriching education means the enriching the learning strategy owned by the education. Our education develops the means of learning by using blended learning instead of E-learning and face-to-face meeting only.

1. Knowledge access

By using the utilization of internet, we can access so many virtual libraries without coming directly there. We can find many websites, articles, journals, and books there. The old way of learning, we just served by one or two hand book, and the other can be found in library. But by the time limitation, going to the library may be feel so difficult. By using blended learning, students and teacher are free to take many resources they want.

1. Social interaction

Social interaction can’t just be found in the face-to-face meeting. In a higher education, even it feels so hard to organize social interaction because of the time limitation. Blended learning serves social interaction, because students can interact online to discuss anytime anywhere they want.

1. Personal agent

In every learning process, each student has their own responsibility toward their learning achievement. Blended learning also gives support to each personal agent. It frees the students to develop their idea, their way of thinking, without limits their creativity.

1. Efficiency

Efficiency is the one that people take the advantages from blended learning. Except class activity, students and teacher are free to access their online assignment and interaction. They free to do the assignment, browse their material, and discuss their problems anytime and everywhere they can before the dateline.

1. Ease of revision

Teacher can give feedback of students’ work easily, because he/she does it online. Teacher can just comment on students’ work and then send it to them. Students can also accept the feedback directly after the teacher sends it. They don’t have to reprint the revision, but they just revise their works and then send it back to the teacher by online.

                There are 3 types of the application of Blinded learning.

1. Blended E-Learning (BeL)

Blended E-Learning combines the use of technology such as DVD, TV, computer, websites with face-to-face learning. Sigh (2003) states that Blended E-Learning will be successfully carried out if the learning process consists of one face-to-face meeting, weekly online assessment, one online discussion, email and one face to face meeting. It promotes better learning experience because students are able to manage their study and improve their social competence.

1. Cooperative learning (CL)

Johnson and Johnson in Hartoyo (2012) state that cooperative learning as a learning process which students learn in pairs or groups. In group, students have greater chance to get information, communicate, or to exchange learning material. It also promotes students to improve personal competence.

1. Blended E-learning cooperative approach (BeLCA)

This approach combines face to face learning, the utilization of technology in learning and learning activity in grouos or pairs. It comprises three types of interaction which have to integrate social interaction, material, and teacher interaction. This is the best approach that id developed to support blended learning. Because it doesn’t only use blended learning, it uses cooperative learning to promote students interaction. When students work in group such in cooperative approach, students will have a chance to exchange their material to solve the problem, because blended learning links face to face learning with real social interaction instead of online interaction only.

Bonk, Olson, Wisher, and Orvis in Hartoyo (2012) mentioned that the blended learning offer some advantages as follows:

1. Accessibility and flexibility
2. Less face-to-face meeting
3. Enhancing learning independency
4. Various of learning experience
5. Retaining social interaction between students
6. Promoting participation for introverts

Taking a look at the advantages and disadvantages of blended learning, we can conclude that there are several factors that promote the blended learning successful such as follows:

1. Institutional success factor

Based on Tabor in Hartoyo (2012), the readiness of the government and the institutional, sufficient technical resources, motivated faculty, good communication and feedback channel with students will support the application of blended e-learning. The readiness means the readiness of the learning media and technician to support blended e-learning itself. The institutional should arrange more budgets for this program, because we know that it wouldn’t be easy to provide each school the internet connection and personal computer/laptop; and the technician and also the teacher should be trained well first. Our government and institutional should also carry out the regular evaluation and publish its result. If those needs if successfully fulfilled, the blended learning will be successfully carried out too.

1. Regarding teachers

The teacher is the important subject in blended learning. In this case, the role of the teacher looks very simple, because there will be a limit face to face meeting instead of online interaction. Teacher should manage time carefully to arrange what they have to do in face to face meeting effectively and efficiently. They have to help students to improve students’ achievement by real meeting and also online. Not all of teacher can do it well. Most teachers in Indonesia are still difficult in beat with the development of the technology. Some of them still have difficulty in using electronic media. They have to join more than one training program to master it well. If the teacher can master the technology, blended learning will be held successfully too.

1. Regarding students

The changes of curriculum in Indonesia give some effects for students’ psychology condition. In order to solve that, teachers have to strengthen their psychological condition. They have to be given the understanding about Independent learning, and time management. Students should know that in blended learning they will have to be responsible for their own learning, because there will be limited meeting with the teachers. The assignment and discussion will be held online. If the students don’t have any responsibility as personal agents toward their achievement. Time management is also the important aspect. Teachers can’t control them all the time, but their understanding of their responsibility that can control them.

Blended learning is one of the solutions of effective and efficient learning process. Because blended learning blend the face to face learning with online interaction. It is appropriate for higher education, because the students are ready for self learning and time management; and the teacher also have mastered the utilizations of electronic media such as computer. Blended learning can also be integrated with cooperative learning to support social interaction. It proves that blended learning not only support student as personal agent, but also social interaction. The successful of blended learning will be supported by the institutional, the teachers, and the students. If those can be fulfilled well, so the blended learning will be held successfully.

SEX, POLITENESS, AND STEREOTYPES

SEX, POLITENESS, AND STEREOTYPES

Some languages in this world differentiate between women’s and men’s language. English is one of those languages which believe that rule. This following sub chapter will give the more explanation about it.
1. Women’s language and confidence
Robin Lakoff shifted the focus of research on gender differences to syntax, semantics, and style. She suggested that women’s subordinate social status in American society is reflected in the language women’s use. She identified that a number of linguistics features which she claimed were used more often by women than by men, and which in her opinion expressed uncertainty and lack of confidence.
e.g:
lawyer : and you saw, you observed what?

witness A : well, after I heard – I cant really, I cant definitely state whether the brakes or the lights came first, but I rotated my head slightly to the right, and looked directly behind Mr. Z, and I saw reflections of light, and uh, very very instantaneously after I heard a very, very loud explosion – from my standpoint of view. It would have been an implosion because everything was forced outward like this, like a grenade thrown into the room. And uh, it was, ot was terrifically loud.

Lakoff suggested that women’s speech was characterized by linguistics features such as the following:
a. Lexical hedges/Fillers
b. Tag questions
c. Rising intonation
d. ‘Empty’ adjectives
e. Precise colour terms
f. Hypercorrect grammar
g. ‘Superpolite’ form
h. Avoidance of strong swear words
i. Emphatic stress
j. Intensifiers

From (a) until (h) are classified into hedges, and the last two lexical features come into boosters. Both hedges and boosters reflect women’s lack of confidence. Lakoff claimed that women use hedging devices to express uncertainty, and they use intensifying devices to persuade their addressee to take them seriously. On the other hand, man use tag question to use uncertainty, women use it to express their politeness in speaking.

2. Interaction
There are many features of interaction which differentiate the talk of women and men. The writer put her attention on interrupting behavior and conversational feedback.
a. Interruptions
If you find a cross-sex interactions, almost all the interruptions were from males. Women got interrupted more than men, regardless of whether they were the doctors or the patients. Most of the men spoke more often and for longer than most of the women. Most of the men interrupted more than women.

e.g:
woman : how’s your paper coming?
man : all rights I guess. I haven’t done much in the past 2 weeks.
woman : yeah. Know how that….
man : cigarette?
woman : oh, uh, sure

b. Conversational feedback
Women provide more encouraging feedback to their conversational partners than men do. Research, on conversational interaction reveals women as cooperative conversationalists, whereas men tend to be more competitive and less supportive of others.

e.g:
mary : I worked in that hotel for-ah eleven years and I found the patrons were really you know, good.
jill : mm.
mary : you had the odd one or two ruffian’s come in and cause a fight but they were soon dealt with.
jill : right, really just takes one, eh? To start trouble.
mary : yeah, and it was mostly the younger ones.
jill : Mm.
mary : that would start, you know.
jill : yeah.
mary : the younger-younger ones couldn’t handle their booze.
jill : Mm.

3. Gossip
Gossip describes the kind of relaxed in-group talk goes on between people in informal contexts. In western, it is defined as ‘idle talk’ and considered particularly characteristic of women’s interaction. Its overall function for women to affirm solidarity and maintain the social relationships between the women involved. Women tend to avoid criticizing people directly because this would cause discomfort. From the three characteristics of women language, we can infer that women language more uses feeling than logical thinking. Beside that, usually men discussion tend to focus on things and activities, rather than personal experience and feelings.

4. Sexist language
Sexist attitudes stereotype a person according to gender rather than judging on individual merits. Sexist language encodes stereotyped attitudes to women and men. And the study of it is concerned with the way language expresses both negative and positive stereotypes of both women and men.

English language discriminates against women. Most English metaphors available to describe women include an extraordinarily high number of derogatory compared to those used to describe men.

e.g:
The chicken metaphor tells the whole story of a girl’s life. In her youth she is a chick, then she marries and begins feeling cooped up, so she goes to hen parties where she cackles with her friends. Then she has her brood and begins to hen-peck her husband. Finally, she turns into an old biddy.

Animal imagery is one example where the images of women seem less positive than men. Animal imagery which refer to men often has at least some positive component. Let’s take birds, stud, wolf. Their imagery are drawn so powerful than women’s.

FINAL ASSIGNMENT

A STUDY ON THE READING SKILLS OF
AFL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
Flora Debora Floris
Marsha Divina
Petra Christian University, Indonesia

This research entitled A STUDY ON THE READING SKILLS OF AFL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS was conducted by Flora Debora Floris and Marsha Divina. The samples of this research taken from students of batch 2003 studying at English department of a private University in Surabaya, Indonesia. The aim of this research is to investigate kinds of reading skills that EFL(English as Foreign Language) University students have difficulty with. To get the information of the aim, the writer will find out what types of reading skills that EFL students have difficulty with and what the most difficult type of reading skills for these EFL students.

The writer take the sample from ten batch-2003-students studying at English department of a private University in Surabaya, because they had passed all levels of reading classes(4levels). It means that those students had learnt all essential reading skills below:
1. Scanning
2. Skimming
3. Improving reading speed
4. Structural clues: morphology (word part)
5. Structural clues: morphology (compounds word)
6. Inference from context
7. Using a dictionary
8. Interpreting pro-forms
9. Interpreting elliptical expression
10. Interpreting lexical cohesion
11. Recognizing text organization
12. Recognizing presupposition underlying the text
13. Recognizing implications and making inference
14. Prediction
15. Distinguishing between fact and opinion
16. Paraphrasing
17. Summarizing
To achieve the purpose of this study two reading tests which covered 17 reading skills were developed and administered to those batch 2003 students. The students are given the text and some questions about those reading skills above in the form of short answer. And the result of the research, we can see below, the kinds of Reading Skills by it’s difficulty level percentage:
1. Recognizing text organization  72.5%
2. Paraphrasing 65%
3. Inference from context 57.5%
4. Summarizing 47.5%
5. Skimming 42.5%
6. Structural clues: morphology (compounds word) 40%
7. Prediction 40%
8. Interpreting pro-forms 37.5%
9. Interpreting elliptical expression 37.5%
10. Structural clues: morphology (word part) 35%
11. Using a dictionary 30%
12. Interpreting lexical cohesion 27.5%
13. Recognizing implications and making inference 22.5%
14. Distinguishing between fact and opinion 17.5%
15. Improving reading speed 10%
16. Recognizing presupposition underlying the text 10%
17. Scanning 7.5%

The most difficult reading skill for those students is recognizing text organization. Perhaps it was because many Indonesian students were not trained to activate text organization after they read a passage. The second position we have paraphrasing. It happens maybe because they are not able to restate the ideas of the original passage or sentence in their own words although they understand the idea of the original passage. How to restate a sentence into new term is related to students’ vocabulary skill. This also has correlation with the third position of this research of finding what kinds of text which students have difficulty with, that is inference from context skill. This research shows that from 2 questions which are made related to inference from context skill, that is respondents are asked to guess word meaning from the context, and their answers turn out to be wrong.

Three reading skills which have good result on these tests are scanning, improving reading speed, and recognizing presupposition underlying the text. It can be assumed that students don’t have much difficulty with these skills. They had perhaps already been trained to use these skills in all reading classes.

COMMENTS:
This research answers the 2 crucial questions about reading skills. The first is that what types of reading skills that EFL students have difficulty with, and what is the most difficult type of reading skills. By looking at those findings, we as the candidates of teacher, and the teachers and lecturers themselves will have some benefit. The benefit is of course by looking at the list of reading skills in which EFL students have difficulty with, we know how to improve learning process which is included the skills which is most difficult.

We can see that some students couldn’t do the exercise in recognizing text organization, it may be happened because of two reasons. The reasons come from the teachers/lecturers and the students. From teachers/lecturers may be the method and technique that they use are not appropriate, because some of the lecturers still use an old style in teaching reading class. They don’t improve their way of teaching which is more fun and educative by looking at some new methods and techniques. It is better for them to improve it, because by reading we can feed our brains. So, it is important to make our students interested in joining reading class. Beside that, we have to be grateful for our lecturers and teachers because their way of teaching scanning, improving reading speed, and recognizing presupposition underlying the text are success. The three of them are the reading skills which had good score on the tests held by the researcher. It means that teachers and lecturers are success in delivering the materials.

Both teachers and students give the equal role in learning process. The most difficult reading skill goes to recognizing text organization because of student factor too. Some students can’t learn if they don’t use the most appropriate learning method and technique from the teacher. As we can see that teacher can’t apply some methods in the same time to adjust to what method which students want. Students should also motivate themselves about the importance of reading. Teachers and lecturers can do many things to improve their reading skills, but what they have done means nothing if it is not supported my students motivation.

Discourse Analysis

Discourse Analysis

Discourse Competence can be seen as the ability to understand, create and develop forms of the language that are longer than sentences (stories, conversations, letters, etc) with the appropriate cohesion, coherence and rhetorical organization to combine ideas.

A discourse is a set of meanings through which a group of people communicate about a particular topic. Discourse analysis more often draws on a broader definition to include the shared ways in which people make sense of things within a given culture or context, including both language and language-based practices (i.e. the ways in which things are accomplished). Discourse analysis has been used to understand a wide range of texts including natural speech, professional documentation, political rhetoric, interview or focus group material, internet communication, newspapers and magazines and broadcast media.

 

Some examples of types of discourse analysis

• Conversation analysis focuses on a fine grained analysis of the ways in which language is used, for example how people reply to a spoken invitations or the uses of a specific word or phrase. Conversation analysis does not usually pay attention to factors outside the text unless such factors are evident in the text – for example, if they are referred to by the speakers.

• Discursive psychology applies the notion of discourse to psychological topics such as memory and attitudes.

• Critical discourse analysis considers the social power implications of particular discourses with an explicit aim of challenging power imbalances.

• Foucauldian discourse analysis draws on the ideas of Foucault, often considering the development and changes of discourses over time. Foucauldian discourse analysis is generally concerned with the webs of power relationships that are enacted and constructed through discourse.

We have so many listening section then speaking practice, but why we are administrated more speaking test than listening one?

1.    Because the goal of learning english is speaking rather than listening.
2.    Listening is used for reference for what we are going to speak, so listening is only a source to gain our goal.
3.    Test is used to measure weather we have understand material or not. Because the goal of learning language is to speak, so we have to test to find out how much we understand, by using speaking test, not listening test.
4.    Listening test is only used for measure weather we understand or not if we have conversation with others, so we don’t need too much. Listening is also used for the source so we can produce good pronunciation. But again, speaking is the goal of learning language.

CODE SWITCHING Implementing Code-Switching in the Classroom by Lesley-Anne Kasperczyk

CODE SWITCHING

Implementing Code-Switching in the Classroom by Lesley-Anne Kasperczyk

 

1. Definition

Code-switching is the alternation between two codes (languages and/or dialects), between people who share those particular codes. Choices about how code-switching manifests itself are determined by a number of social and linguistic factors. It is quite typical in multicultural and immigrant populations. Code-switching can take on several forms including alteration of sentences, phrases from both languages, and switching in a long narrative. In normal conversations between two bilinguals, code-switching consists of eighty-four percent single word switches, ten percent phrase switches, and six percent clause switching (Skiba, 1997, para. 2).

2.      Function

In some situations, code-switching is done deliberately to exclude a person from a conversation. It is seen as a sign of solidarity within a group, and it is also assumed that all speakers in a conversation must be bilingual in order for code-switching to occur. Bilinguals do not usually translate from the weaker language to the stronger one, and is used most often when a word doesn’t “come”. Code-switching is not a language interference based on the fact that it supplements speech. It provides continuity in speech rather than presenting an interference when used because of an inability of expression. Code-switching can be used in a variety of degrees, whether it be used at home with family and friends, or used with superiors at the workplace (Lipski, 1985, p. 23).

3.      Types

The first type of language switching is known as mechanical switching. It occurs unconsciously, and fills in unknown or unavailable terms in one language. This type of code-switching is also known as code-mixing. Codemixing occurs when a speaker is momentarily unable to remember a term, but is able to recall it in a different language. Another type of code switching, known as code-changing, is characterized by fluent intrasentential shifts, transferring focus from one language to another. It is motivated by situational and stylistic factors, and the conscious nature of the switch between two languages is emphasized (Lipski, 1985, p. 12).

The definition of applied linguistics

The definition of applied linguistics

Applied Linguistics itself may be seen as an autonomous, problem-solving disciple, concerned broadly with language (mainly, but not exclusively second language) education and language problems in society’ (Steve McDonough, 2002)

applied linguistics is an interdisciplinary field of research and practice dealing with practical problems of language and communication that can be identified, analysed or solved by applying available theories, methods or results of Linguisticsor by developing new theoretical and methodological frameworks in linguistics to work on these problems’ (AILA International Association of Applied Linguistics)

Applied Linguistics (AL) provides the theoretical and descriptive foundations for the investigation and solution of language-related problems, especially those of language education (first-language, second-language and foreign-language teaching and learning), but also problems of translation and interpretation, lexicography, forensic linguistics and (perhaps) clinical linguistics.’ (Dick Hudson’s online survey of  BAAL British Association of Applied Linguistics members)

The differences of the definition

no	Key words	McDonough	BAAL	AILA
1	problem-solving disciple	yes	yes	yes
2	concerned broadly with language	yes	yes	yes
3	language problems in society	yes
4	applying available theories, methods		yes	yes
5	problems of translation and interpretation, lexicography, forensic linguistics and (perhaps) clinical linguistics		yes

The scope of applied linguistics according to http://www.slideshare.net/petitlutin/applied-linguistics

1. Language teaching and learning
2. Language testing
3. Psycho- and neuro linguistics
4. Sociolinguistics
5. Discourse analysis
6. Computational anlysis
7. translationstudies

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF COMMUNICATION LANGUAGE TEACHING (CLT)

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF COMMUNICATION LANGUAGE TEACHING (CLT)

 

 

1. 1.    TRADITIONAL APPROACHES

 

Traditional approaches is the first period of the historical background in CLT. It happened until 1960_s. In this time, grammar competence becomes the main attention of language proficiency. Because of that belief, they keep teaching grammar deductively. Students would be given certain grammar rules, the examples of constructing centences using those rules, and also opportunities to practice using them. By building up a large repertoire of sentences and grammatical patterns and also providing repetitive practice and drilling, they assumes that language learning goal could be achieved.

 

The researcher at that time develop some methodologies based on these assumptions include Audiolingualism (in North America) (also known as the Aural-Oral Method), and the Structural-Situational Approach in the United Kingdom (also known as Situational Language Teaching). Then, the they also use are memorization of dialogs, question-and-answer practice, substitution drills, and various forms of guided speaking and writing practice.

 

In a typical audiolingual lesson, the following procedures would be observed:

 

1. Students first hear a model dialog (either read by the teacher or on tape) containing key structures that are the focus of the lesson. They repeat each line of the dialog, individually and in chorus. The teacher pays attention to pronunciation, intonation, and fluency. Correction of mistakes of pronunciation or grammar is direct and immediate. The dialog is memorized gradually, line by line. A line may be broken down into several phrases if necessary. The dialog is read aloud in chorus, one half saying one speaker’s part and the other half responding. The students do not consult their book throughout this phase.
2. The dialog is adapted to the students’ interest or situation, through changing certain key words or phrases. This is acted out by the students.
3. Certain key structures from the dialog are selected and used as the basis for pattern drills of different kinds. These are first practiced in chorus and then individually. Some grammatical explanation may be offered at this point, but this is kept to an absolute minimum.
4. The students may refer to their textbook, and follow-up reading, writing, or vocabulary activities based on the dialog may be introduced.
5. Follow-up activities may take place in the language laboratory, where further dialog and drill work is carried out. (Richards and Rodgers 2001, 64–65)

 

In a typical lesson according to the situational approach, a three-phase sequence, known as the P-P-P cycle, was often employed: Presentation, Practice, Production.

Presentation: The new grammar structure is presented, often by means of a conversation or short text. The teacher explains the new structure and checks students’ comprehension of it.

Practice: Students practice using the new structure in a controlled context, through drills or substitution exercises.

Production: Students practice using the new structure in different contexts, often using their own content or information, in order to develop fluency with the new pattern.

 

The underlying theory for a P-P-P approach has now been discredited. The belief that a precise focus on a particular form leads to learning and automatization (that learners will learn what is taught in the order in which it is taught) no longer carries much credibility in linguistics or psychology.

 

1. 2.    CLASSIC CLT APPROACHES (1970_s – 1990)

 

In the 1970s, a reaction to traditional language teaching approaches began and soon spread around the world as older methods such as Audiolingualism and Situational Language Teaching fell out of fashion. The centrality of grammar in language teaching and learning was questioned, since it was argued that language ability involved much more than grammatical competence. What was needed in order to use language communicatively was communicative competence. The researhers argue that communicative competence, and not simply grammatical competence, should be the goal of language teaching. So, the Methodology used here is communicative language teaching.

 

Rather than simply specifying the grammar and vocabulary learners needed to master, it is argued that a syllabus should identify the following aspects of language use in order to be able to develop the learner’s communicative competence:

 

1. As detailed a consideration as possible of the purposes for which the learner wishes to acquire the target language; for example, using English for business purposes, in the hotel industry.
2. Some idea of the setting in which they will want to use the target language; for example, in an office, on an airplane, or in a store.
3. The socially defined role the learners will assume in the target language, as well as the role of their interlocutors; for example, as a traveler, as a salesperson talking to clients, or as a student in a school.
4. The communicative events in which the learners will participate: everyday situations, vocational or professional situations, academic situations, and so on; for example, making telephone calls, engaging in casual conversation, or taking part in a meeting
5. The language functions involved in those events, or what the learner will be able to do with or through the language; for example, making introductions, giving explanations, or describing plans.
6. The notions or concepts involved, or what the learner will need to be able to talk about; for example, leisure, finance, history, religion.
7. The skills involved in the “knitting together” of discourse: discourse and rhetorical skills; for example, storytelling, giving an effective business presentation.
8. The variety or varieties of the target language that will be needed, such as American, Australian, or British English, and the levels in the spoken and written language which the learners will need to reach.
9. The grammatical content that will be needed.
10. The lexical content, or vocabulary, that will be needed.

 

1. 3.    CURRENT CLT APPROACHES

 

Communicative language teaching today refers to a set of generally agreed upon principles that can be applied in different ways, depending on the teaching context, the age of the learners, their level, their learning goals, and so on.

 

Ten Core Assumptions of Current Communicative Language Teaching:

 

1. Second language learning is facilitated when learners are engaged in interaction and meaningful communication.
2. Effective classroom learning tasks and exercises provide opportunities for students to negotiate meaning, expand their language resources, notice how language is used, and take part in meaningful interpersonal exchange.
3. Meaningful communication results from students processing content that is relevant, purposeful, interesting, and engaging.
4. Communication is a holistic process that often calls upon the use of several language skills or modalities.
5. Language learning is facilitated both by activities that involve inductive or discovery learning of underlying rules of language use and organization, as well as by those involving language analysis and reflection.
6. Language learning is a gradual process that involves creative use of language, and trial and error. Although errors are a normal product of learning, the ultimate goal of learning is to be able to use the new language both accurately and fluently.
7. Learners develop their own routes to language learning, progress at different rates, and have different needs and motivations for language learning.
8. Successful language learning involves the use of effective learning and communication strategies.
9. The role of the teacher in the language classroom is that of a facilitator, who creates a classroom climate conducive to language learning and provides opportunities for students to use and practice the language and to reflect on language use and language learning.
10. The classroom is a community where learners learn through collaboration and sharing.
11. Current approaches to methodology draw on earlier traditions in communicative language teaching and continue to make reference to some extent to traditional approaches. Thus classroom activities typically have some of the following characteristics:
12. They seek to develop students’ communicative competence through linking grammatical development to the ability to communicate. Hence, grammar is not taught in isolation but often arises out of a communicative task, thus creating a need for specific items of grammar. Students might carry out a task and then reflect on some of the linguistic characteristics of their performance.
13. They create the need for communication, interaction, and negotiation of meaning through the use of activities such as problem solving, information sharing, and role play.
14. They provide opportunities for both inductive as well as deductive learning of grammar.
15. They make use of content that connects to students’ lives and interests.
16. They allow students to personalize learning by applying what they have learned to their own lives.
17. Classroom materials typically make use of authentic texts to create interest and to provide valid models of language.

 

Approaches to language teaching today seek to capture the rich view of language and language learning assumed by a communicative view of language Jacobs and Farrell (2003) see the shift toward CLT as marking a paradigm shift in our thinking about teachers, learning, and teaching. They identify key components of this shift as follows:

 

1. Focusing greater attention on the role of learners rather than the external stimuli learners are receiving from their environment. Thus, the center of attention shifts from the teacher to the student. This shift is generally known as the move from teachercentered instruction to learner-centered instruction.
2. Focusing greater attention on the learning process rather than the products that learners produce. This shift is known as the move from product-oriented to process-oriented instruction.
3. Focusing greater attention on the social nature of learning rather than on students as separate, decontextualized individuals
4. Focusing greater attention on diversity among learners and viewing these difference not as impediments to learning but as resources to be recognized, catered to, and appreciated. This shift is known as the study of individual differences.
5. In research and theory-building, focusing greater attention on the views of those internal to the classroom rather than solely valuing the views of those who come from outside to study classrooms, investigate and evaluate what goes on there, and engage in theorizing about it. This shift is associated with such innovations as qualitative research, which highlights the subjective and affective, the participants’ insider views, and the uniqueness of each context.
6. Along with this emphasis on context comes the idea of connecting the school with the world beyond as means of promoting holistic learning.
7. Helping students to understand the purpose of learning and develop their own purpose
8. A whole-to-part orientation instead of a part-to-whole approach. This involves such approaches as beginning with meaningful whole text and then helping students understand the various features that enable texts to function, e.g., the choice of words and the text’s organizational structure.
9. An emphasis on the importance of meaning rather than drills and other forms of rote learning
10. A view of learning as a lifelong process rather than something done to prepare students for an exam

 

Jacobs and Farrell suggest that the CLT paradigm shift outlined above has led to eight major changes in approaches to language teaching. These changes are:

 

1. Learner autonomy: Giving learners greater choice over their own learning, both in terms of the content of learning as well as processes they might employ. The use of small groups is one example of this, as well as the use of self-assessment.
2. The social nature of learning: Learning is not an individual, private activity, but a social one that depends upon interaction with others. The movement known as cooperative learning reflects this viewpoint.
3. Curricular integration: The connection between different strands of the curriculum is emphasized, so that English is not seen as a stand-alone subject but is linked to other subjects in the curriculum. Text-based learning (see below) reflects this approach, and seeks to develop fluency in text types that can be used across the curriculum. Project work in language teaching also requires students to explore issues outside of the language classroom.
4. Focus on meaning: Meaning is viewed as the driving force of learning. Content-based teaching reflects this view and seeks to make the exploration of meaning through content the core of language learning activities.
5. Diversity: Learners learn in different ways and have different strengths. Teaching needs to take these differences into account rather than try to force students into a single mold. In language teaching, this has led to an emphasis on developing students’ use and awareness of learning strategies.
6. Thinking skills: Language should serve as a means of developing higher-order thinking skills, also known as critical and creative thinking. In language teaching, this means that students do not learn language for its own sake but in order to develop and apply their thinking skills in situations that go beyond the language classroom.
7. Alternative assessment: New forms of assessment are needed to replace traditional multiple-choice and other items that test lower-order skills. Multiple forms of assessment.
8. Teachers as co-learners: The teacher is viewed as a facilitator who is constantly trying out different alternatives, i.e., learning through doing. In language teaching, this has led to an interest in action research and other forms of classroom investigation.

communicative competence

COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE 

 

Components of the communicative competence model

Today, there seems to be general agreement in the literature on a model of communicative competence consisting of five components:

 

a) Linguistic competence:

 

This refers to a speaker’s lexical, morphological, orthographical, syntactical and phonological knowledge of the language. In other words, how to build up morphemes into words and words into clauses and sentences, how to spell them in the written form or pronounce them in speech. It only deals with the literal meaning (or locutionary force) of utterances. This is the type of knowledge that has traditionally been the staple diet of ELT classrooms and it is important to note that it is not rejected in the current model of communicative competence, but rather assumes a lesser role, seen as only one aspect of language proficiency.

 

b) Pragmalinguistic Competence:

 

This refers to a speaker’s ability to understand or convey communicative intent appropriately in a given context based on a knowledge of phrases typically used by native speakers to express speech acts such as apologies, requests, refusals and so on. This kind of competence therefore describes a speaker’s ability to interpret the illocutionary force, or conversational implicature (Grice 1975), of utterances, for example, understanding that ‘Could you open the door?’ is a request rather than a question about ability to complete an action.

 

c) Sociopragmatic Competence:

 

This refers to a speaker’s knowledge of what is socially or culturally appropriate in a particular speech community. This might include an appreciation of politeness and social conventions, taboo topics and non-verbal factors such as kinesics and proxemics. For example, the knowledge that, in Japan, business cards should be exchanged at the beginning of an initial meeting, handed to the recipient with both hands and treated with great reverence is a kind of sociopragmatic competence.

 

d) Strategic Competence:

 

This refers to a speaker’s ability to exploit verbal or nonverbal communication strategies when communication problems arise, compensating for deficiencies in other competences. These include four common types:

 

i) Avoidance or reduction strategies such as topic avoidance or message abandonment to try to keep conversation inside areas where the speaker feels in control.

ii) Compensatory strategies such as circumlocution or mime when a word is not known.

iii) Stalling strategies such as using hesitation devices or repetition to hold the turn in conversation while a message is formulated

iv) Interactional strategies such as asking for repetition or clarification where the speaker makes use of the linguistic resources of other interlocutors to maintain conversation.

 

e) Discourse Competence:

 

This refers to a speaker’s ability to produce unified, cohesive and coherent spoken or written discourse of different genres (Halliday & Hasan 1989). In writing this might include the knowledge of the correct layout for a letter or how to use anaphoric reference in a text. In speaking it would include how to develop a conversation naturally through ‘topic shading’ where a subtopic from preceding talk is taken up and expanded into the main topic (Crow 1983; Bublitz 1988). It could also include knowledge of different generic structures such as narratives, gossip or jokes (Eggins & Slade 1997) or discourse intonation (Brazil, Coulthard & Johns 1980).

 

 

 

 

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