I.

LANGUAGE TEACHING AND FORMATION OF BEHAVIOR

This is the most important principle which affects the whole process of language teaching.
Language teaching should contribute to the formation of all-round persons. The language
teacher should organize the classroom in such a way that students can master the language
materials and at the same time they can train themselves to become good citizens. It is
recommended that the morals should be introduced to the students naturally and properly
in the reading texts, dialogues, exercises or examples.
II AUTHENTIC LANGUAGE STANDARDS
A language teacher should teach a language as it is, not as it ought to be. The forms used
by educated native speakers are the guide to what is correct and acceptable. The students
might be exposed to different accents of dialects but they should learn to use the standard
language only.

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III. LANGUAGE TEACHING AND CULTURE
In teaching a language, the teacher has to relate it to the culture of the people who speak
that language, for language is closely connected with people’s habits, customs, needs and
aspirations. Students should be encouraged to use the target language to talk about their
culture, families, classes and about the work and life of the fellow countrymen in a larger
community.
IV. LANGUAGE TEACHING AND VISUAL AIDS
Visual aids are of great importance in language teaching. They help the teacher create
meaningful situations; they introduce students cultural apsects; they help students develop
language skills and retain these skills longer.

Criteria of Good Visual Aids

attractive

reusable portable
Good
visual
aids

purposeful durable

V. STUDENTS’ PARTICIPATION IN CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES

The students should be engaged in practice most of the learning time. 85% of class time
should be devoted to practice and no more than 15% to explanation and commentary.
Linguists who support Behaviorism and Structural Grammar believe that practice must be
done through mimicry – memorization and pattern drills in order to form a good habit in
language learning. Practice, however, in the view of linguists who support cognitive

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psychology and generative – transformational gramamr, should not be done through
mechanical drill alone, but through meaningful drill and communicative drill. In this sense,
meaningful learning is more important than rote learning.

Teachers should encourage students to work on their own, help them overcome shyness
and fear of making mistakes. To do this the teachers need to design the tasks for students
of different levels in their class so that all the students may be involved in classroom
activities.
VI. CONTROL OF DISTRIBUTION OF THE LANGUAGE MATERIALS
Language materials of high frequency are introduced first and are repeated at higher levels
throughout the whole process of teaching and learning. When the basic structures have
been mastered, the vocabulary is expanded to adequate levels and specialized vocabulary
items are taught.
To meet the learners’ need for communication, communicative language teaching has been
recommended during the past years. Look at the following diagram:

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In this diagram, there are three levels: Beginners (Point I), Intermediate (Point II) and
Advanced (Point III). Beginners spend about 80% of the time mastering the gramamtical
system and move eventually through to advanced level where only about 20% of the class
time is devoted to grammar and 80% is devoted to communicative functions.
VII. USE OF MOTHER TONGUE IN LANGUAGE TEACHING
In the process of acquiring a new language, there is always transference of the previous
language that may be favorable or unfavorable to language teaching.
§ Negative transfer or interference is the use of a native language pattern or rule
which leads to an error or inappropriate form in the target language. For example, a
Vietnamese learner of English may say : “I contacted with her yesterday” instead of
“I contacted her yesterday” because of the transfer of the Vietnamese pattern: “tiếp
xúc, liên lạc với ai”
§ Positive transfer is transfer which makes learning easier, and may occur when both
the native language and the target language have the same form. For example, both
English and Vietnamese learners find it easy to say “I like sports” or “I love you”
because both languages have the same verb pattern S-V-O.
In order to help students overcome difficulties of this type, teachers should use contrastive
analysis to predict the problems their students may encourter. Intensive practice must
follow contrastive analysis for better results.
VIII. LANGUAGE MATERIALS ARE PRESENTED IN MEANINGFUL
SENTENCES AND TAUGHT THROUGH FOUR SKILLS
The Audio – Lingual Method requires the sequenced order of skills, that is listening –
speaking – reading – writing. For Communicative Approach, the students work on all four
skills from the beginning because they need oral communication which takes place through
negotiation between the speaker and the listener, as well as written communication which
takes place through interaction between the reader and the writer

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FACTORS AFFECTING LANGUAGE TEACHING
§ THE LANGUAGE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
§ THE LEARNER
§ THE TEACHER
I. THE LANGUAGE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
L2 learning can take place in different environments: natural, formal or a combination of
both. Learning a second/foreign language in the host country involves natural environment
because the focus in on communication. Learning a second/foreign language in a classroom
situation or in any situation where a prescribed course of study is followed involves formal
environment. The combination of a formal and a natural environment might entail studying
the second/foreign language in a classroom in the host country.
Leaners in the natural environment usually outperform students who have been exposed to
formally structured classroom situation, because in the formal environment, L2 learners do
not have much time for spontaneous conversation about daily events. They are usually
occupied with drills, translation and grammar which only part of the class time is free for
conversations and language games. Natural and formal learning environments offer
different benefits. While natural environments enhance communication skills, formal
environments allow for learning of explicit rules. Some kinds of classrooms will invite and
support a student’s use of language more than others will. Below are some characteristics
of a good language classroom:
Class organization or management: When the teacher has the students work in
groups or pairs, they may have lots of opportunities to use the language for real
purposes in order to practise the language and to integrate and refine the new skills
and knowledge.
Class activities: Besides such tasks as drills, workbook exercises and basic reading
texts, other communicative activities should be assigned to learners; for example,
story-telling, drama, experiential activities, songs and games.

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 Atmostphere: Learners will be eager to learn more when there is a collaborative
and non – competitive atmosphere in their classroom. Learners can support each
other and get supportive feedback from the teacher.
Physical conditions: Badly – lit and overcrowded classrooms usually demotivate
the learners. The classroom will look more pleasant with pictures, posters, charts or
maps on the wall.
II. THE LEARNER
1. Age and risk – taking: There has been much discussion about the critical period for
learning a language – it is often assumed that after puberty, learners find it difficult to
acquire the language successfully, especially its phonological features. Moreover, when
people grow older, they generally become more self – conscious and inhibited. They are
less willing to take risks and make mistakes which are essential for effective language
learning.
2. Aptitude: Regardless of whether an L2 learner is an adult or a child, it is often assumed
that some individuals possess a special talent or aptitude for learning a second language.
Aptitude includes verbal intelligence, which involves familiarity with words and the ability
to reason analytically about verbal materials. This may influence the rate of development
and determine success or failure in L2 learning
3. Attitude: Some researchers argue that attitude and motivation are closely linked.
Positive attitudes toward the language, its culture, and its speakers can lead to higher
motivation to learn, increasing the likelihood of success. Conversely, negative attitudes
may result in decreased motivation and, in many cases, failure to achieve proficiency
4. Motivation: Motivation is the need or desire the learner feels to learn a language. If
there is a strong desire to learn the language, obviously the learner will put in much more
effort, which can enhance the learning process. Two types of motivation are usually
distinguished:
Instrumental motivation: wanting to learn a language because it is useful for
certain utilitarian reasons or goals, such as getting a job or a promotion, reading
foreign newspaper, travelling abroad, passing the examination.

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 Integrative motivation: wanting to learn a language in order to communicate with
people of another culture who speak it.
Both types of motivation may influence the rate and quality of L2 acquisition, each
being more effective under specific conditions.
III. THE TEACHER
The teacher and their teaching method can have a significant impact on learners’
motivation. If the teaching method is unsuitable or the lessons are unengaging, learners
may feel demotivated. Moreover, the teacher’s personality plays a crucial role in shaping
the teacher-student relationship, which can influence learners’ motivation. A teacher who
treats all students fairly and understands their aspirations can inspire greater enthusiasm
for learning.