The role of mother tongue in english language teaching
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| Teaching terms, which is an approach to language teaching developed by British applied
linguists. Both took from the Direct Method although An oral approach should not be confused with the obsolete Direct Method, which meant only that the learner was bewildered by a flow of ungraded speech, suffering all the difficulties he would have encountered in picking up the language in its normal environment and losing most of the compensating benefits of better contextualization in those circumstances (Pattison cited in Richards and Rodgers, 2005:38). The main characteristics of the Situational Language Teaching, at least those connected to the theme were as follows: • The target language is the language of the classroom. • A great emphasis on accuracy to avoid acquisition of errors. • Language teaching begins with the spoken language. • New language points are introduced and practiced situationally. (Richards and Rodgers, 2005:39). According to Richards and Rodgers, the fact that the new language points are introduced and practiced situationally became a key feature of the approach in 1960s, and since then the term situational was used in referring to the Oral Approach. The terms Structural- Situational Approach and Situational Language Teaching came into common use (2005:39). 8 Concerning Situational Language Teaching, it is still true that “this method is widely used at the time of writing and a very large number of textbooks are based on it.” (Hubbard cited in Richards and Rodgers, 2005:36). In the United States, toward the end of the 1950s, the need for a radical change and rethinking of foreign language teaching methodology resulted in the emergence of the Audiolingual Method with strong ties to linguistics and behavioral psychology (Richards and Rodgers, 2005:53-67). The Audiolingual Method, like the Direct Method that was already discussed, had a goal very different from that of the Grammar-Translation Method. Larsen-Freeman specifyes: “Teachers want their students to be able to use the target language communicatively [ … ] , to overlearn the target language, to learn to use it automatically without stopping to think.” (1986:43). Here is a number of Audiolingual Method key features: • The meaning that the words have for the native speaker can be learned only in a linguistic or cultural context and not in isolation. • Very little use of the mother tongue by teachers is permitted. • A great effort to get students to produce error-free utterances. • Items to be learned in the target language are presented in spoken form before they are seen in written form. • Focus on accuracy throug drill and practice in the basic structures and sentence patterns of the target language. (Larsen-Freeman, 2000:35, Brown, 1994:57). Additionally, Larsen-Freeman comments on the role of the students´ mother tongue: “The habits of the students´ native language are thought to interfere with the students´ attempts to master the target language. Therefore, the target language is used [ … ] .” (1986:44). This method had a major influence on language teaching methods that were to follow since the overall goal of the Audiolingual Method was to create communicative competence in learners (Rodgers, 2001). “However, the concipients of the monolingual principle were always aware of the role L1 played in foreign language learning.” (Medgyes, 1994:66). The fact is that this monolingual principle, led by scholars as Sweet, Jespersen or Palmer, has not always been enforced. Towards the late 60s, it became clear that the monolingual orthodoxy was untenable on any grounds, be they psychological, linguistic or pedagogical. To refer only to pedagogical qualms, how can teachers and students be expected to use English 9 exclusively, when both of them are non-native speakers of English and share the same mother tongue? (Medgyes, 1994:66). “As an alternative to the audiolingual method the cognitive theory developed from the mid-sixties in response to the criticisms levelled against the audiolingual method.” (Stern, 1999:469). As its name suggests, the Cognitive Approach was influenced by cognitive psychology and Chomskyan linguistics (Celce-Murcia, 1991:7). Here are some of the Cognitive Approach characteristics, at least these related to my thesis: • Language learning is viewed as rule acquisition, not habit formation. • Grammar can be taught deductively or inductively. • The teacher should have good proficiency in the target language. (Celce-Murcia, 1991:7). Many teaching approaches and methods developed with different characteristics and assumptions about how a foreign language should be taught and further many teaching techniques were changed to improve the teaching methodology in the last century. There has always been a concern for method, but “ [ … ] the current attraction to ‘method’ stems from the late 1950s, when foreign language teachers were falsely led to believe that there was a method to remedy the ‘language teaching and learning problems’.” (Lange, 1990:253). The period from 1950s to 1980s was the most active epoch in the history of approaches and methods, including the emerge of the Audiolingual Method and the Situational Method. During the same period also smaller methods appeared and developed in general education or have been extended to second language settings (Richards and Rodgers, 2005:15). “However, the lack of flexibility in such methods led some applied linguists [ … ] to seriously question their usefulness and aroused a healthy skepticism among language educators [ … ] .” (Celce-Murcia, 1991:6). “By the 1990s applied linguists and language teachers moved away from a belief that newer and better approaches and methods are the solutions to problems in language teaching.” (Richards and Rodgers, 2005:16). Richards and Willy contribute toward what has been called the ‘post-methods era’ as shifting attention to teaching and learning processes and the contributions of the individual teacher to language teaching pedagogy (2002:5). 10 2.1.2. Alternative approaches and methods The period from 1950s to 1980s has often been refered to as ‘The age of Methods’, during which a number of detailed prescriptions for language teaching proposed. Situational Language Teaching evolved in the United Kingdom while parallel method, Audio-Lingualism, emerged in the United States. In the middle-period, a variety of methods were proclaimed as successors to then prevailing Situational Language Teaching and Audio-Lingual methods. These alternatives were promoted under such titles as Silent Way, Suggestopedia, Community Language Learning, and Total Physical Response. Each of these alternatives will be now briefly described only regarding the theme of this thesis, which is the role of the mother tongue in ELT. Concerning Silent Way, Larsen-Freeman explains that the meaning is made clear by working on the students´ perception, not by translation. However, teachers can use the students´ mother tongue to give instruction when necessary, to help a student to improve pronunciation or when feedback is needed (1986:65). “More important, knowledge students already possess of their native language can be exploited by the teacher of the target language.” (Larsen-Freeman, 1986:65). Also the other method, which is called Suggestopedia allowes the usage of the native language, for example for translation to make the meaning clear or when the teacher thinks it is necessary. However, “as the course proceeds, the teacher uses the native language less and less.” (Larsen-Freeman, 1986:83). In Community Language Learning, where possible, native language equivalents are given to the words of the target language to make the meanings clear and to combine words in several ways to create sentences. Moreover, conversations in the target language can be replaced by the mother tongue conversation (Larsen-Freeman, 1986:103). The last of these alternatives, Total Physical Response, uses the mother tongue during the introduction. Larsen-Freeman resumes: “After the introduction, rarely would the mother tongue be used. Meaning is made clear through body movement.” (1986:118). “These methods are developed around particular theories of learners and learning [ … ] , they are consequently relatively underdeveloped in the domain of language theory […]. ” (Richards and Rodgers, 2005:71). 11 2.2. Synchronic view on the role of mother tongue Synchronic view in English language teaching can be closely connected to the second half of the twentieth century when so called communicative approach just began to prevail. This approach naturally follows the goal of foreign language teaching which is the ability to use the language for communication and thus develop communicative competence. This approach, I will deal with in this part, also suggests that foreign language teaching recognizes a social, interpersonal and cultural dimension as well as grammatical and phonological patterns. 2.2.1. Current communicative movement Since the early 1970s, communicative movement has had an influential role in foreign language teaching. There is nothing new about the idea that communicative ability is the goal of foreign language teaching since it underlies such approaches as Situational Language Teaching or The Audio-Lingual Method (Littlewood, 1991:x). According to Richards and Rodgers, the communicative movement aimed to move away from grammar to focus on language as communication (2005:71). In the 1980s, the alternative approaches and methods came to be overshadowed by more interactive views of language teaching, which collectively came to be known as Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) and which refer to a set of principles that reflect communicative view of language. “CLT has spawned a number of off-shoots that share the same basic set of principles, but which spell out [ … ] envision instructional practices in somewhat diverse ways.“ (Rodgers, Digests). These Communicative Language Teaching approaches include The Natural Approach, Cooperative Language Learning, Content-Based Teaching, and Task-Based Teaching. In recent years, there have been some dramatic shifts in attitude towards both language and foreign language teaching. “Language is more than simply a system of rules. […] We need to distinguish between […] grammatical rules and being able to use the rules effectively and appropriately when communicating.” (Nunan, 1989:12). His view has upholded communicative language teaching. 12 Historically, it can be seen as a response to the Audio-Lingual Method and as an extension or development of the Notional-Functional Syllabus 5 . It places great emphasis on helping students use the target language in a variety of context and also great emphasis on learning language functions (Internet 2). Nunan defines five general principles of Communicative Language Teaching: • An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language. • An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activities outside the classroom. • The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation. • An enhancement of the learner´s own personal experiences as important contributing elements to classroom meaning. • The provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on language but also on the learning process itself. (Nunan, 1991:283). Moreover, Howatt divides Communicative Language Teaching into strong and weak version: There is, in a sense, a ‘strong’ version of the communicative approach and a ‘weak’ version. The weak version which has become more or less standard practice in the last ten years stresses the importance of providing learners with opportunities to use their English for communicative purposes and, characteristically, attempts to integrate such activities in a wider program of language teaching…. The ‘strong’ version of communicative teaching, on the other hand, advances the claim that language is acquired through communication, so that it is not merely a question of activating an existing but inert knowledge of the language, but of stimulating the development of the language system itself. If the former could be described as ‘learning to use’ English, the latter entails ‘using English to learn it’ (1984:279). Larsen-Freeman comments on the role of students´ mother tongue in Communicative Language Teaching: Judicious use of the student´s native language is permitted in CLT. However, whenever possible, the target language should be used not only during communicative activities, but also for explaining the activities to students or in assigning homework. The students learn from these classroom management 5 Notional-Functional Syllabus is more a way of organizing a language learning curriculum than a method or an approach to teaching. Instruction is organized not in terms of grammatical structures, but in terms of ‘notions‘ and ‘functions’. A ‘notion’ is a particular context in which people communicate, and a ‘function’ is a specific purpose for a speaker in a given context. For example, the notion party would require several functions like introductions and greetings and discussing interests and hobbies (Internet 8). 13 exchanges, too, and realize that the target language is a vehicle for communication, not just an object to be studied (2000:132). Communicative Language Teaching still continues as is seen in many coursebooks and teaching resources based on its principles. It has also influenced other language teaching approaches and methods that apply a similar philosophy of language teaching (Richards and Rodgers, 2005:174). In the early eighties, Stephen Krashen and Tracy Terrell developed the Natural Approach, based on Krashen´s theories about second language acquisition, which combined a comprehensive second language acquisition theory with a curriculum for language classrooms. Krashen´s theory of second language acquisition will be described in more detail in part 2.2.1.1. Krashen and Terrell identify the Natural Approach as ‘traditional’, which means that it is based on the use of language on communicative situations without recourse to the native language (2001:178). As part of the Natural Approach, students listen to the teacher using the target language communicatively from the very beginning. It has certain similarities with the much earlier Direct Method, with the important exception that students are allowed to use their native language alongside the target language as part of the language learning process (Internet 3). There needs to be a considerable amount of comprehensible input from the teacher since language is viewed as a vehicle for communicating meanings and messages. According to Richards and Rodgers, it is the comprehension, meaningful communication and comprehensible input that allow conditions for successful second language acquisition (2005:190). In addition, Krashen and Terrell add: “acquisition can take place only when people understand messages in the target language”.” (Richards and Rodgers, 2005:180). Krashen and Terrell further specify the goal of the Natural Approach: “We determine the situations in which they [ pupils ] use the target language. […] We do not organize the activities of the class about a grammatical syllabus.” (1983:71). Richards and Rodgers sum up that the Natural Approach rejects the formal (grammatical) organization of language as a prerequisite to teaching and it is based on observation and interpretation of acquiring both first and second languages in nonformal situations. (2005:190). 14 Although Krashen´s theories and the Natural Approach have received plenty of criticism, still, this was the first attempt at creating an expansive and overall ‘approach’ rather than a specific ‘method’, and the Natural Approach headed naturally into the generally accepted effective language teaching norm: Communicative Language Teaching (Internet 3). Beside Natural Approach, other approaches that make communication central are Content-Based Teaching, Task-Based Teaching, Participatory Approach and Cooperative Language Learning. The difference between these approaches, and the Natural Approach, is an act of their focus. “In these approaches rather than ‘learning to use English,’ students ‘use English to learn it’.” (Howatt cited in Larsen-Freeman, 2000:137). Larsen-Freeman explains: “ [ These approaches ] have in common teaching through communication rather than for it.” Involving Cooperative Language Learning, also known as Collaborative Learning, according to Richards and Rodgers, has been implyed as a way of promoting communicative interaction in the classroom and is seen as an extension of the principles of Communicative Language Teaching (2005:193). Richards and Rodgers also suggest the goals of Cooperative Language Learning (CLL), which are the following: • Providing opportunities for naturalistic second language acquisition through interactive pair and group work. • Paying attention to particular lexical items, language structures, and communicative functions through the interactive tasks. • Providing pupils to develop successful communication strategies. • Creating positive classroom climate. (2005: 193). “CLL is thus an approach that crosses both mainstrean education and second and foreign language teaching.” (Richards and Rodgers, 2005:193). “Content-Based Instruction (CBI) refers to an approach to second language teaching in which teaching is organized around the content [ … ] that students will acquire.” (Richards and Rodgers, 2005:204). It is the teaching of content or information in the language being learned with little or no direct or explicit effort to teach the language itself separately from the content being taught (Krahnke cited in Richards and Rodgers, 2005:204). 15 This approach should according to Richards and Rodgers, activate and develop existing skills in English, acquire learning skills and strategies, and broaden pupils´ understanding of people speaking English. Since these principles can be used in many different ways, it is highly probable to see CBI as one of the leading curricular language teaching approaches (2005:211-220). As the name suggests “Task-Based Teaching refers to an approach based on the use of tasks as the core unit of planning and instruction in language teaching.” (Richards and Rodgers, 2005:223). It is somehow connected to the Communicative Language Teaching since: • Real communication activities are essential for language learning. • Activities carrying out meaningful tasks promote learning. • Learning process is supported by meaningful language to the learner. (2005:223). Richards and Rodgers further specify that employing tasks as a tool for promoting communication and authentic use of foreign language are the key principles of Taks-Based Teaching. It should provide a more effective teaching and remain in the domain of ideology rather than fact (2005:240-241). It is true that many of these methods are still being practiced nowadays and some of them have had a great influence on foreign language teaching. In general, the goal of many of the current methods and approaches is to teach students to communicate in the target language. According to Brown, current approaches to foreign language teaching are ‘principlied’, since there is a finite number of principles for classroom practice, however, because of the topic of my thesis, I will focus only on one of them, which is the native language effect: The native language of learners will be a highly significant system on which learners will rely to predict the target-language system. Although that native system will exercise both facilitating and interfering (positive and negative) effects on the production and comprehension of the new language, the intefering effects are likely to be the most salient (2005:13). The fact is that the question whether to use or not to use the mother tongue in foreign language classroom has been one of the biggest dilemmas in the last century. 16 Beginning with the Grammar-Translation Method, the mother tongue played a crucial role here since the use of native language made an integral part of the teaching and learning process. It was around the early twentieth century, when several reform movements concerning the role of mother tongue appeared. Their main message was that the target language is a tool for communication and that the maximum use of target language would raise the effectiveness of teaching and learning. However, as Medgyes suggests: It is quite probable that the Reform Movement and its pedagogical offsprings, the Direct Method and subsequently the Audio-Lingual Method, would never have made such a strong impact on ELT if they had not been supported and, in fact, coerced by the profound and growing influence of English-speaking countries (1994:66). 2.2.1.1. A view on the foreign language teaching in the Czech Republic Before following up on description of Krashen´s Theory of Second Language Acquisition I will briefly define the school educational programme in the Czech Republic to provide its basic vision of foreign language education. The description will be derived from so called Frame Educational Program (RVP) for the primary education which describe what pupils should know, understand, and what they should be able to do as a result of the education provided to them. Since 1989, there is a strong emphasis on modern language teaching in all kinds of schools. Beside elementary education, pupils have options to addend pre-school nursery schools introducing modern languages in form of games and songs, secondary schools, universities and colleges. All pupils should become proficient in at least one language in addition to Czech language. Pupils of modern languages should be able to speak, read, write and understand the foreign language they study. Since language acquistion is a lifelong process, foreign language teaching begin in a primary school in year three and it is a compulsory subject for all the pupils. From the beginning, pupils need opportunities to speak, listen, read, and write in order to develop communicative competence, understanding of how the language is constructed, and understanding of culturally-appropriate interactions. Beside the communicative competence, there are also learning, problem solving, social and personnel, civil and working competences. Effective foreign language teaching integrate the study of a target language with the study of culture, its daily life, history, and literature which means that foreign language teaching provide 17 natural links to all other subjects and disciplines. One of the most important goals of modern language study not only in the Czech Republic is the development of communicative competence in foreign languages, which will be discribed in more detail in chapter 3 (2005:10-28). In addition, it should be mentioned that English language in the Czech Republic has been taught as a foreign language not as a second language since there is a difference between these two terms. In English as a Second Language (ESL) situation, the learner is learning English within an English environment and needs to understand and speak English outside the classroom too which is a great advantage in comparison to EFL programme. In English as a Foreign Language (EFL) situation, there is basically a homogenous group of learners of the same linguistic and cultural background (Internet 7). Pupils learn English inside of a classroom, but continue to speak their native language outside the classroom. They do not have adequate access to the target language outside of the classroom and practice what they have learned during the lessons. Since pupils have no or a little chance to use a foreign language elsewhere the teachers should provide them abundant exposure to the target language with little or no use of the mother tongue in accordance to the current communicative approach. 2.2.2. Krashen´s Theory of Second Language Acquisition This part deals with a brief description of the Krashen´s widely known and well accepted theory of second language acquistion, which has had a large impact in all areas of foreign language research and teaching since the 1980s. There has been a little research dealing with the ways in which someone acquires a second or foreign language. In 1983, Krashen published the results of his research and paved the way for a revolution in this field. His theory consists of five main hypotheses: • The Acquisition-Learning hypothesis • The Monitor hypothesis • The Natural Order hypothesis • The Input hypothesis • and the Affective Filter hypothesis (Richards and Rodgers, 2005:181-183). 18 This five-point hypothesis focused on the difference between the acquisition and the learning of a second language. According to Krashen, “Acquisition requires meaningful interaction in the target language - natural communication - in which speakers are concerned not with the form of their utterances but with the messages they are conveying and understanding.” (Krashen, 1981:18) The Acquisition-Learning distinction is the basic one of all the hypothesis in Krashen's theory and the most widely known among linguists and language practitioners. It makes a distinction between ‘acquisition’, which Krashen defines as developing competence by using language for ‘real communication’ and ‘learning’, which he defines as ‘knowing about’ or ‘formal knowledge’ of a language (Krashen, 1981:26). According to Krashen, there are two independent systems of second language performance: ‘the acquired system’ and ‘the learned system’. The ‘acquired’ system or ‘acquisition’ is the product of a subconscious process very similar to the process children undergo when they acquire their first language. It requires meaningful interaction in the target language - natural communication - in which speakers are concentrated not in the form of their utterances, but in the communicative act (1981:27). The ‘learned’ system or learning is the product of formal instruction and it comprises a conscious process which results in conscious knowledge about the language, for example knowledge of grammar rules. “Formal teaching is necessary for ‘learning’ to occur, and correction of errors helps with the development of learned rules. Learning, according to this theory, cannot lead to acquisition.” (Richards and Rodgers, 2005:181). The Monitor hypothesis account for association with acquisition and learning. The monitoring function, according to Schütz, is the practical result of the grammar which is learned (Internet 12). Krashen further establishes that the acquisition is the utterance initiator, while the learning part is a monitor or an editor (Schütz, Internet 12). The successful use of the monitor limits three conditions which are sufficient time for a learner, focus on form and knowledge of rules (Richards and Rodgers, 2005:182). The role of conscious learning is somehow limited in second language performance. According to Krashen, the role of the monitor should be minor. He also suggests that there is an 19 individual variation among language learners regarding the use of the monitor. He distinguishes three types of learners on the basis of the time spent on using the monitor: • over-users use the monitor all the time • under-users have not learned or prefer not to use their conscious knowledge • optimal users use the monitor appropriately (Krashen cited in Schütz, Internet 12). An evaluation of the person´s psychological profile may be in linkage to the level of monitor usage. The third hypothesis is called The Natural Order hypothesis. “The acquisition of grammatical structures proceeds in a predictable order.” (Richards and Rodgers, 2005:182). Some grammatical rules tend to be acquired early while the others late in the first language acquisition of English, and a similar natural order is found in second language acquisition (Schütz, Internet 12). “However, Krashen points out that the implication of the natural order hypothesis should not be applied to language teaching. In fact, he rejects grammatical sequencing when the goal is language acquisition.” (Krashen cited in Schütz, Internet 12). The Input hypothesis explains how the learner acquires a second language. “Acquisition requires exposure to the target-language production (input) at an adequate level of difficulty that is comprehensible [ … ] via linguistic and extralinguistic context.” (European Commission, 1997:40). According to Krashen, the learner improves and progresses along the ‘natural order’ when he/she receives second language ‘input’ that is one step beyond his/her current stage of linguistic competence. (Schütz, Internet 12). “An acquirer can ‘move’ from a stage I [ … ] to a stage I + 1 [ … ] by understanding language containing I + 1.” (Krashen and Terrell cited in Richards and Rodgers, 2005:182). Since not all of the learners can be at the same level of linguistic competence at the same time, Krashen suggests that natural communicative input is the key to designing a syllabus, ensuring in this way that each learner will receive some input that is appropriate for his/her current stage of linguistic competence (Schütz, Internet 12). Finally, the Affective Filter hypothesis includes a view that a number of ‘affective variables’ play a facilitative, but non-causal, role in second language acquisition (Schütz, Internet 12). These variables related to second language acquistition are: |