In our new handbook for A-level language teachers we included a chapter, early in the book, focused on our chosen principles underlying A-level teaching. There is a very good question we should ask when formulating a syllabus or teaching approach: why do we do what we do? In the adapted extract below you'll find key notions that underly the whole book - sound principles of language teaching at A-level, and language teaching in general.
1. The role of comprehensible input
This term from second language learning research refers simply to language, oral or written, which students understand. Common sense and research tell us that the main driver of progress in a language is exposure to comprehensible input. The mechanisms we use to acquire our first language(s) through input (and communication) are still active when we learn a language as teenagers or adults. This is why language teachers are so often urged to use the target language as much as possible, and to encourage contact with the language outside the classroom. In lower-level classes it is often argued that time does not allow these natural processes of acquisition to occur, hence the recourse to activities such as vocabulary learning and grammar exercises. Some scholars will say that these short-cuts do not really work – the jury is still rather out on that question!
At A-level, however, students have a good deal more time allocated to
their lessons and homework, so it is more likely that simply hearing, reading
and using the new language will drive the progress we want students to make. Thus,
to put it simply, if your students are engaging with the maximum amount of
target language in and out of class, then nature will take its course and
proficiency will increase rapidly during the A-level course.
To take this a little further, research also tells us it is only through exposure to language just above a student’s current level, that the underlying grammatical system develops. Scholars debate whether this development is the result of language-specific learning processes or general learning mechanisms. It is this underlying system which generates rapid comprehension of spoken and written language. It is the same system which allows learners to create spontaneous utterances in speech, and produce novel language on paper. The more the underlying system is developed, the better students will perform in their exams. This leads us on to the following section.
2. Types of knowledge
It is important to be clear that there are two types of knowledge when we talk about language learning. On the one hand, there is the knowledge which allows us to explain the rules of language, and on the other, the knowledge we draw on to use language automatically, without even being able to explain how. It is primarily this second sort of knowledge which students need to acquire. In the jargon, these two types of knowledge are called declarative (‘knowing that’) and procedural (‘knowing how’). Another way of looking at this is to think in terms of knowledge and skill, where skill means the application of procedural knowledge. Having declarative knowledge is useful, but students need to use language skills quickly, effortlessly and preferably accurately, so it is procedural knowledge which counts.
This is worth reflecting on, since there is always a risk that teachers and students focus too much on learning rules and not enough on using language for communication. A big debate in the research community has long been whether knowing the rules (declarative knowledge) leads to procedural knowledge. Can one become the other? Our best bet is that it helps, and probably helps more with highly motivated, proficient learners. These tend to be the students we teach at A-level, so it is worth spending time on structured grammatical and vocabulary building exercises. Many A-level students may indeed welcome the structure of explicit grammar practice. (We consider types of grammar activities in more detail in Chapter 6 of the book.)
3. The role of communication
Clearly, for proficiency to develop we need more than just comprehensible input. In general, when we learn, we get better at what we practise. This also applies to language learning. If we listen a lot, we improve listening skills, and so on. Given there is general agreement that the main goal of language learning is interpersonal communication, then it makes sense to incorporate as many opportunities for communication as possible. Scholars enjoy discussing precisely what communication means and often take the position that doing exercises, translating, doing a listening test, answering comprehension questions are not examples of communication (even if they can be worthwhile skills in their own right). Thus, those tasks are certainly not without value, but the purist view of communication is a reminder that much of what we do in class is not really about interactive communication at all. In our defence, we can say that it is through doing traditional exercises that we build skills that enable us to communicate – it is a question of delayed gratification or ‘jam tomorrow’.
Researchers are generally sceptical about this defence, however, and urge language teachers to make use of genuinely communicative tasks as far as possible. A communicative task is one where there is a genuine transfer of knowledge or opinion from one person to another and which is founded on a communicative need. It is often where there is an ‘information gap’ between two or more speakers and where the speakers have to combine their knowledge, for example to find a solution to a problem or complete a game. Scholars argue that motivation is higher when language is used in this ‘real life’ fashion, rather than through exercises focused on the form of the language.
To give a simple example for use early in the A-level course, an
information gap task where pairs of students must find out what they each did
last weekend would be an effective way to revise use of the perfect (preterite)
tense. Each partner gives the other person on a piece of paper three vague ideas
of what they did. The pair must ask and answer questions to find out in detail what
the other person did.
At a more sophisticated level, to practise the use of modal verbs or the subjunctive (depending on the language), pairs of students could play the roles of psychiatrist and client. The client is either given scenarios (or better they must invent them), to which the (poorly trained) psychiatrist must give an instant solution (‘You should… It is important that you…)
Communication can, of course, come in the form of general conversation and transfer of knowledge, for instance when talking about an issue, a text, a film or work of literature. Our experience is that lessons are most satisfying and beneficial when there is genuine communication going on. (In Chapter 5 of the book we consider examples of communicative tasks, while in Chapters 7 and 8 we examine tasks which generate communication in film and literature lessons.)
4. Integrating the four skills
By designing lessons which incorporate and integrate the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing we are more likely to develop the complex web of underlying knowledge which powers comprehension and spontaneous language production. A typical lesson will recycle language through the four skills, building long-term memory of vocabulary along with grammatical skill – the underlying system we mentioned in the previous section. Think of a broad lesson (or lesson sequence) structure in the following way:
1. a) Pre-reading/listening discussion of a topic to create interest and introduce key vocabulary.
2. b) Listening to and/or reading a text on a relevant topic of interest or relevance to the syllabus.
3. c) Exercises based on the same text involving speaking, more reading, listening, vocabulary building and contextualised grammar practice – that is to say, taking examples of grammar used in the text and practising that grammar through practice exercises.
d) Wider discussion of issues raised by the text with the lexical and grammatical skills acquired in (3), as well as prior knowledge.
5. e) A written task to enable further recycling of language and development of ideas and opinions.
This type of template is a tried-and-tested way of engaging students in relevant topics while developing their linguistic skills. (As will be seen later in the book, the same general type of template can apply to the teaching of film and literature, where these provide the textual basis for a whole range of integrated language tasks.)
5. Building long-term memory
It is fashionable in educational circles to talk about the ‘science of learning’ (cognitive science). You will already know something about issues such as cognitive load, retrieval practice, spaced learning, working memory (short-term memory) and long-term memory. Some educationalists argue that all learning is basically a change in long-term memory. For us as linguists, a few key takeaways are worth emphasising. The development of long-term memory is accelerated by various factors. These include repetition (especially spaced repetition over time), deep processing of material to be learned, and motivation to learn. The latter is so important since it promotes careful attention, another prerequisite for learning. As long-term memory is enlarged and strengthened, students can retrieve language quickly and effortlessly. This is the source of that procedural knowledge which is the main goal.
In practical terms, therefore, long-term memory will develop when lessons hold attention through interest and involvement, provide intellectual challenge, incorporate repetition and recycling, do not overload students with too much language at once and require deep processing of language. What does this term deep processing mean? In terms of vocabulary teaching, for example, it is not enough to just know the meaning of a new word. Students need to know in what other forms the word occurs (its morphological variations – play, player, plays, playing, playful), the words which tend to appear alongside the word (its collocations) and the various ways the word is used in different contexts. As we shall see in Chapter 6, it is through this sort of deeper knowledge that students can use vocabulary stored in memory both accurately and quickly.
One implication of this is that lessons which promote intensive, repeated use of language are likely to develop long-term memory most efficiently. A short text exploited intensively is generally better than a longer text exploited superficially. A text followed by some comprehension questions in English or a true/false exercise will not generate repetition and deep processing as well as a text accompanied by a range of different exercises using all the skills. We develop this further in Chapter 3.
6. Grammar
This takes us back to the earlier discussion of the two types of knowledge. During the A-level course students must ‘know grammar’, but not in the sense of being able to explain the rules – though this may help. Many grammatical exercises provide comprehensible input and promote repetition, but traditional exercises such as translation and gap-fill drills on their own may not be very engaging for some students. As language teachers, an old-fashioned grammar exercise may seem interesting and useful, but not all our students, even at A-level, are fascinated by grammar. They are, however, interested in using the language to understand and communicate ideas.
For this reason, it makes sense to contextualise grammar teaching as much as possible, as mentioned earlier. Although students tend to be more interested in meanings than the form of the language, we can design grammar exercises which are either gamified or meaningful to students. )We get into more detail about this in Chapter 6 of the book.).
There is, however, a strong case for practising grammar through
translation in preparation for the specific exercises students will encounter
in their Paper 1 exam (sometimes called Listening, Reading and Writing). (In
Chapter 10 we suggest a way to do this sort of traditional ‘grammar bashing’.)
I'll leave it there for now. Further in this chapter of the book we also talk about metacognitive strategies, motivation, aptitude and the role of homework.
Our handbook is available from Amazon here. It covers 220 pages of A4, inlcuding photocopiabel resources for French, German and Spanish.
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