THEORIES OF LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING

A Paper Was Arranged to Complete Task for Theories of Language Teaching

and Learning
On the 1st Semester
Lecturer
Dr. Dwi Winarsih, M.Pd

By:

Akhmad Yani 0203518066

English Education Department of Graduate Program

Educational Faculty and Teacher Training
Semarang State University
2018
1. Review the concept of human learning theory/ies as the basis of CLT!
2. Concerning with the teaching methodology. Richards and Rodgers (2014) maintain
three interrelated level (i.g., approach, design, and procedure). Clarify CLT in term of
those three levels!
3. What is your comment on the implementation of CLT in non-English speaking
countries?
4. What is/are the assumption of audio-lingual method and its implication for English
teaching?
5. Explain the mechanistic classroom practice in audio lingual method?
6. Design 3 different classroom activities in audio-lingual and explain the goal of each
activity!

Answer :

1. Review the concept of human learning theory/ies as the basic of CLT.

Johnson (1984) and Littlewood (1984) consider an alternative learning theory

that they also see as compatible with CLT-a skill-learning model of learning.
According to this theory, the acquisition of communicative competence in a language
is an example of skill development. This involves both a cognitive and a behavioral
aspect:
The cognitive aspect involves the internalization of plans for creating appro-
priate behavior. For language use, these plans derive mainly from the language system
— they include grammatical rules, procedures for selecting vocabulary, and social
conventions governing speech. The behavioral aspect involves the automation of these
plans so that they can be converted into fluent performance in real time. This occurs
mainly through practice in converting plans into performance. (Littlewood 1984: 74).

Communicative Language Teaching literature about communicative

dimensions of language little has been written about learning theory. One such
element might be described as the communication principle:
 Activities that involve real communication promote learning.
 Activities in which language is used for carrying out meaningful tasks promote
learning.
 Language that is meaningful to the learner supports the learning process.

More recent accounts of Communicative Language Teaching, however, have

attempted to describe theories of language learning processes that are compatible with
the communicative approach. Savignon (1983) surveys second language acquisition
research as a source for learning theories and considers the role of linguistic, social,
cognitive, and individual variables in language acquisition. Other theorists (e.g.,
Stephen Krashen, who is not directly associated with Communicative Language
 Teaching) have developed theories cited as compatible with the principles of CLT.
Krashen sees acquisition as the basic process involved in developing language
proficiency and distinguishes this process from learning. Acquisition refers to the
unconscious development of the target language system as a result of using the
language for real communication. Learning is the conscious representation of
grammatical knowledge that has resulted from instruction, and it cannot lead to
acquisition. It is the acquired system that we call upon to create utterances during
spontaneous language use. The learned system can serve only as a monitor of the
output of the acquired system. Krashen and other second language acquisition
theorists typically stress that language learning comes about through using language
communicatively, rather than through practicing language skills.

2. Concering with teaching methodology, Richards and Rodgers (2014) maintain three interrelated
level. i.e. approach, design and procedure. Clarify CLT in terms of those three levels ?

Approach

Theory of Language
 Language is for communication.
 Language is used in context.
 The relationship between form and meaning is not a one-to - one
correspondence.
 Discourse analysis studies language above sentence level.
 Pragmatics studies how language is used in communication.
 Hymes and his notion of communicative competence
 Hillday and his functional account of language use
 Richards and Rodger’s summary of the communicative view of language
Theory of Learning
 CLT should follow the natural acquisition process.
 Language is best learned through use in social context.
 Effective language learning will take place if the emphasis is on
communication.
 Language learning is a process of meaning negotiation.
Design
Objectives
- acquire knowledge of the TL system;
- acquire knowledge of rules of speaking in the TL;
 - use and respond to different types of speech acts;
- use language appropriately
The syllabus.
Procedures
1) Presentation and comprehension (Students listen, then answer questions.)
2) Demonstration of functional patterns (The teacher exemplifies each functional
pattern.)
3) Practising functional patterns (Students practise the dialogue in pairs.)
4) Free production (Students make mini-dialogues of their own.)
5) Checking students’ work
6) Reading new materials (integrating reading and writing)
7) Writing based on reading

3. What is your comment on the implementation of CLT in non-English speaking countries?

In my opinion, CLT must be integrated by other approach. We don’t use pure of one
approach. But, we use other approach based on students’ ned.

4. What is/are the assumption of audio-lingual method and its implication for English
teaching?

According to Bambang (2010) with regard to the nature of language the

Audio-Lingual Method has some assumptions. The method sees the English language
teaching as follows:

1. Language is the everyday spoken utterance of the average person at normal speed.
It seems that language is what people speak not what people write. This
assumption may be a response to how people used to study a foreign language. In
traditional methods many people used to study a foreign language from what was
written and the materials were grammar oriented. Grammar and vocabulary are
not thought of as a logical arrangement of forms, meanings, paradigms, and rules
extracted from the written language but a succession of grammatical patterns that
occur constantly in the spoken language. The language materials in Audio Lingual
Method are developed based on situational syllabus.
2. Listening and speaking come first, and reading and writing come later. This
assumption seems to be inspired by the process of a child who learns his/her
mother tongue. A child always begins with hearing what his/her parents speak and
he/she tries to speak afterwards. He/she will learn reading or writing later. This
assumption really dominates the procedure of teaching the target language in the
ALM. The procedure always begins with listening and speaking and the teaching
 of reading and writing will be presented after language learners master the spoken
language.
3. Every speaker uses a language in a slightly different manner. Language learners
are not forced to speak in the same manner; they are allowed to speak the foreign
language in different ways as long as they can communicate in the language.

The Audiolingual Method is a method for foreign language teaching which

emphasized the teaching of listening and speaking before reading and writing. This
method is combination between behavioral psychology and linguistic. It’s also called
“Army Method” because this method is appeared since the World War II for the
American armies who had to learn language quickly and intensively. The language
teaching theoreticians and methodologists is behavioral psychology which is an
empirically based approach to the study of human behavior. Behaviorism tries to
explain how an external even (a stimulus ) caused a change in the behavior of an
individual (a response) without using concept like ”mind” or “idea”. In the
Audiolingual Method, the students first hear a language. Later, they speak the
language and after that, they read and write in it. Mother tongue is discouraged in the
classroom when this method is used. The Audiolingual Method does not learn lots of
vocabulary. Rather, the teacher drills speaking and grammar because in this method,
grammar is most important for the student. In other word, the student must repeat
grammar pattern after the teacher.

5. Explain the mechanistic classroom practice in audio lingual method?

The mechanism can be practice as follows:

a. The language teacher gives a brief summary of the content of the dialogue. The
dialogue is not translated but equivalent translation of key phrases should be given in
order for the language learners to comprehend the dialogue.
b. The language learners listen attentively while the teacher reads or recites the dialogue
at normal speed several times. Gestures and facial expressions or dramatized actions
should accompany the presentation.
c. Repetition of each line by the language learners in chorus is the next step. Each
sentence may be repeated a half dozens of times, depending on its length and on the
alertness of the language learners. If the teacher detects an error, the offending learner
is corrected and is asked to repeat the sentence. If many learners make the same
errors, chorus repetition and drill will be necessary.
d. Repetition is continued with groups decreasing in size, that is, first the two halves of
the class, then thirds, and then single rows or smaller groups. Groups can assume the
speaker’s roles.
 e. Pairs of individual learners now go to the front of the classroom to act out of the
dialogue. By this time they should have memorized the text.

Since the listening and speaking ability is the first skill to consider, the first procedure
of teaching is more related to listening and speaking ability (Huebener, 1969: 17)

6. Design 3 different classroom activities in audio-lingual and explain the goal of each
activity!

Different classroom activities in audio-lingual are :

a. Using Dialogues to teach simple present tense

Because of the emphasis on natural spoken language, the audio-lingual method presents
grammar and vocabulary through dialogues. The teacher first reads each line of the dialogue or
presents it with a recording. In chorus, students repeat each line of the dialogue after it's
presented, eventually memorizing it through many repetitions. The teacher then takes one role
and the class takes the other, and they also change parts. For example, when we are going to
teach about subject to the student, we may also use one of many types of Audio-lingual, namely
inflection. Inflection means that we have to change one word in utterance appears in another
form when it repeated.

T: I make a video
T: I make videos
(Teacher ask the students to change the subject)
S: He makes a video
T: They make a video
S: They make a video
T: She makes a video
S: She makes a video
(Teacher explain why different subject can make different verb by adding s/es)

Hopefully by doing activities which called inflection, the students can learn the use subject and
simple present tense.
b. Standard everyday dialogue practice

The students are require to make the diaogue and present it in front of the class. By
speak up in front of the class, the will feel encourourage to present the best in front of
their friend. The dialogues should be kept short and sweet, each student having three to
five sentences to produce. For example:

S1: Good morning.

S2: Hello.
S1: How much are the tomatoes?
S2: 35 yen a kilo.
S1: Oh! That’s cheap! I’ll take three kilos.
S2: Good. That will be 105 yen.
S1: Here you are.
S2: And here’s your change. Thank you.
S1: Thank you! Goodbye.
S2: Goodbye.

In this dialogue, it is pretty evident that simple substitution can be had: tomatoes
changed to pears, yen changed to euros, 35 changed to whatever price seems right.
Students can also be encouraged to use different greetings and farewells that they
know or have recently learned.This type of exchange can also be expanded by giving
S1 a shopping list and S2 a list of prices. Add props and you have yourself a role play.

The structure of the exchange should remain standard as a confidence builder, while
the content of the exchange can be changed with simple substitution.

c. Transformation.
The students are require to make a positive, negatif, and interogative sentence that provide
by the teacher. A sentence is transformed by being made negative or interrogative or
through changes in tense, mood, voice, aspect or modality.
For example:
T: I am eating candy
(Teacher ask the student to make negative on by adding the word “not” between subject
and verb)
T: I am not eating candy
S: I am not eating candy
T: Am I eat candy?
S: Am I eat candy?
S: Am I eat candy?
(Teacher explain the formula for making interogative sentence)
After the teacher explain about the formula in making negative and interogative sentence,
then he ask the students to make positive, negative, and interogative sentence. After that,
they speak their work as loud as possible for each student.