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Dr. Rajendrasinh Jadeja

Introduction

The winds of change are blowing.  English language teaching (ELT) is an instrument of change and at the same time it is itself changing constantly due to research and innovations.  ELT is a global phenomenon.  Teachers in all the countries of the world are teaching English today, and researchers round the world are engaged in studying issues like language acquisition, language learning, use of ICT for these purposes, monolingual and multilingual competence etc.

In this write-up we shall focus on the new directions of ELT in Gujarat.  We are moving away from the existing structural approach to a Modified Communicative (Modcom) approach.  The modification part of the “Modcom” signifies specific Indian and Gujarati perspective, and the communicative part suggests the global perspective.  In short, we are keeping abreast of the research and innovations at the international level and, at the same time, ensuring that our ground realities are also kept in mind.

The overall thrust is towards teaching language for functional purposes.  We are not interested in providing information about the language.  We want them to learn how use the language.  We are not teaching facts about the language.  Our students are learning the language to carry out specific communicative functions (like making inquiries, responding to invitations, requesting, agreeing, disagreeing and so on).

Our purpose in this article is to discuss some ground rules.  Our focus is not on the theory of language teaching, it is on clear guidelines in terms of certain “Do’s and Don’ts”.  The theory may crop up only incidentally.  In any case a brief list of references is provided at the end of this article for a searching soul.  Given below is an overview of different methods and approaches that have emerged over the years :

Language Teaching

The Dynamics of Methodological Change

During the 20^th Century

(modified from Diane Larsen – Freeman, 2000)

The features of many earlier methods are adapted and adopted in our Modcom approach.  Let’s now look at eleven ‘ground rules’ of Modcom approach.   They are called ‘ground rules’ because they form the basis and also because they provide a working model of the new approach.  These ground rules are :

1            Initially, speak quite a lot    

2            Do not speak ALL the time

3            Focus on Meaning

4            Do not correct the errors immediately

5            Do not correct ALL the errors

6            Allow the students to talk in class

7            Do not translate everything

8            Please encourage effort to comprehend

9            Use contemporary Reference Books

10            Assign Self-learning Tasks

Some of these rules are deceptively simple.  Some others are apparently contradictory.  So let’s discuss each one in some detail.

1.          Initially, speak quite a lot :

Many of our teachers hesitate to speak in English in the class.  They are worried that the students will not understand them if they speak in English.  And it is true that students often ask the teacher to talk to them in Gujarati  However, we must remember the basic principle that without a lot of exposure to the new language, the learner simply cannot learn it.   And all of us know that the teacher of English is the main (and in many cases, the only) source of input i.e., the source of exposure.

Speaking quite a lot, however, does not mean lecturing.  Please do not lecture.  If I deliver a 30 minute lecture on a serious topic, my students will be bored to death !  Speaking here means talking to them using short, simple sentences.  Keep talking.  You may say the same thing in two different ways and say it more than once.  In other words the teacher should not tire of talking.  Saying something once is not enough.  Even the instructions for a simple activity should be given again and again :  first, standing in front of the class; then walking to the middle and facing the right half ; then again facing the left half.  Say the same thing in slightly different words.  But please do not switch over (after one or two sentences) to reading or writing or some other activity.  Initially, speak quite a lot.  [And make it a point to speak in English].

2.       Do not speak ALL the time :

In our enthusiasm to teach, and to teach well, we tend to go on and on.  A good teacher knows a large number of things which she wants to share with the learners.  We may, in good faith, take up all the time available to us – leaving very little time for the learner.  We must realize that this may prevent (especially if the teacher keeps talking in Gujarati) the learning of English.

Initially, the teacher must speak quite a lot.  But at some point she must stop talking and encourage the learners to talk.  She has to plan her work in such a manner that almost half way through each lesson she brings in activities that provide space to the learners.  If you find that your learners are not ready to talk, use the following transition strategy :

1.   Start with ‘listen and repeat’ activities where learners merely reproduce some words and sentences.  You say something and they just repeat it.

2.  Then go on to ‘listen and do’ activities where they have to comprehend the instruction and do something like raising a hand or writing their name. 

3.  Then you may go a step further with ‘listen and respond’ type of activities where they may be expected to speak a word or a short sentence. 

After a month of such graded training, when they feel more confident, involve them in simple pair / group work tasks given in the new textbooks.

3.       Focus on Meaning :

For several centuries in the past, language teachers have focused on Form rather than meaning.  The most common examples of focusing on Form are the teaching of grammar and pronunciation.  We spend a lot of time in these activities.

The modified communicative (Modcom) approach does not abolish the teaching of grammar.  We are now saying that grammar is better learnt within a meaningful context, when the focus is not on the form.  Memorizing the rules of grammar or even practice of unrelated, isolated sentences is not very helpful.

Therefore, the focus of the activity should be on Meaning.  The learners should make an effort either to comprehend some meaning or to express some meaning.  For example, our listening and reading activities are comprehension tasks and our speaking or writing activities are expression tasks.  Let the learners pay full attention to understanding and expressing the meaning.  Form can be taught incidentally.  A rule should be given as a helpful learning tip – not as the main teaching point.    

4.       Do not correct the errors immediately:

Immediate error correction does more harm than help.  When a child is struggling to express some meaning, we should encourage her by providing help.  Error correction creates a threatening environment.  The child needs emotionally supportive environment to overcome hesitation and say something.  Instead of supporting her, if we point out errors, the child will withdraw and decide never to open her mouth.  Therefore the teacher must develop a lot of error tolerance.

However, this does not mean that we just don’t correct any error.  The best form of error correction is to draw their attention to unacceptable forms not individually but collectively.  For example, we give them a pair work activity and ask them to talk to each other.  As a teacher, I move quietly from pair to pair while they are talking and note down some common errors.  I need not correct them immediately.  At the end of the activity, I write the erroneous expressions commonly used by them on the blackboard and discuss the correct alternatives.

Remember, if we correct an individual learner in the midst of her speech, the learner experiences a loss of honour, and in most cases, decides not to speak in future.  Thus, we end up achieving neither correctness nor fluency.

5.       Do not correct ALL the errors :

Many sincere teachers feel irritated at the sight of an error [also at the sound of an error].  So when they are examining written work, they use red underline [or even circles and cross-marks] to point out the errors.  But this can be highly frustrating both for the learner as well as the teacher.  Marking all errors, for instance marking all grammatical errors, is like trying to teach eight to ten grammar items at a time, which is information overload for the child.  Therefore, it is advisable to handle one or two related items at a time.

We should learn to decide our priorities.  For example, while you are working on verb forms, the learner would benefit the most from your feedback on verb forms.  On that occasion you may ignore other errors – in fact, you should ignore other errors.  Error tolerance is a part of our professional competence.

6.       Allow the students to talk in class :

This ground rule goes against the age old, widely accepted [and often admired] practice of “pin-drop silence” in the classroom.  It was believed that any student trying to talk during class time was showing disrespect towards the teacher.

We are now trying to change this traditional, teacher centred, authoritarian teaching style in favour of a more open, more lively, more learner–centred style.  And this change is very important for language learning or language acquisition process.  We must realize that our students will never learn to speak if we do not allow them to speak in class.  Please provide lots of opportunities for speaking.  Make them speak to each other [which is comparatively easier], before asking them to talk to you [which they will find difficult].  Let them talk in class !

However, it will not help much if you give them five minutes “to talk about anything”.  The talking time should be structured clearly.  Give them a task so that they know “what is to be discussed ; and provide a pre-task model to show “how” they can do it.  It is now realized that exposure + interaction promotes acquisition.  In our case, teacher – talk is the exposure, student – talk is the interaction.  Therefore, if necessary, inform the headmaster [and the parents] about why we encourage talking, and give the students some talking time every now and then.  You may even allow them to talk in Gujarati in the beginning, and gently lead them on to more and more of English.

7.       Do not translate everything :

We often use translation under the impression that it is necessary as it helps them to comprehend the English text.  This is a very harmful misconception.  Translation is neither necessary nor helpful.  When the teacher begins to translate everything, the learners stop processing the English text.  They just wait for the Gujarati version.  It is established through extensive research that the learner’s effort at comprehension is an important part of the acquisition process.  If the learner does not make an effort to comprehend [i.e. if she does not try to understand English text or speech], she will not develop the ability to comprehend.  Translation simply kills this effort.  So we must not translate everything. 

Of course, we are not opposing the use of Gujarati in class.  The teacher can use Gujarati [if necessary] to create the background, to explain complex concepts and to give detailed instructions about some tasks.  Provide extensive explanation [in the beginning] in Gujarati.  But when you use English, let them try to understand the English words, phrases and sentences without translation.

Translation is harmful in two ways : it kills the effort at comprehension, and more important than that, it kills confidence.  When the learner becomes dependent on translation, she in fact loses the confidence that she can also understand English with some effort.  What can be more harmful than that ?  Therefore, please stop translating and start teaching !

8.          Please encourage effort to comprehend :

This is important in teaching reading – and equally important in teaching listening.  Teachers often ask the question : if we do not translate a reading passage, how will they understand it ?  We must remember that comprehension and translation are two different skills ; and of the two, comprehension is easier, translation is more difficult. 

The teacher should use the comprehension questions given in the textbook as a teaching exercise, not as a testing task.  In addition to each question given in the text, you can ask a number of sub-questions.  This will generate a discussion about the passage.  Using a large number of questions, discuss the passage in simple words and thus encourage the students to make an active effort to comprehend it.

We should also encourage them to comprehend spoken English.  Use picture description and other guessing games where they have to listen to you [or to another student] and complete the task.  Give them the confidence that they CAN comprehend English and half the battle is won.

9.       Use Contemporary Reference Books :

Some of our schools continue to use age old grammars and Pathmalas, where many of the sentences are unnatural.  No wonder – because the books were written a hundred years ago.  English language has changed during these years and it is a pity that our students are subjected to such archaic use of language.

It is advisable to use recent grammars and dictionaries of English because they are based on systematic studies of how the language is used today.  Similarly, it is necessary to select passages from English newspapers and magazines for additional reading tasks.  For example, if you buy five kilogrammes of last year’s magazines, you can cut out hundreds of passages [with photographs and other graphics] that can be used as excellent contemporary reading materials !

10.          Assign Self-learning Tasks :

Teachers feel responsible for the learning to take place – and it is good to accept responsibility.  However, we must realize that a teacher can only teach.  She cannot do the learning [on behalf of the learner].  In the final analysis, the learner has to take responsibility for learning.

What the teacher can do is to help the learner to take such responsibility.  In this age of mass media and internet, at least some of our students should be encouraged to use these [and other] sources of learning.  The teacher only needs to point out interesting programmes and websites, and follow it up with some discussion in the class.  You can use a large variety of children’s programmes for this purpose and see how your learners spend a lot more time on activities that can be called enrichment tasks.

 Conclusion :  Go Beyond the Textbook

Above all, please remember that Modcom is not a new way of teaching the textbook.  Modcom is all about teaching the language.  Even in our classroom teaching we can [and we must] go beyond the textbook.

School children enjoy singing songs and playing vocabulary games.  Provide some space in the prayer assembly for news items and one-minute speeches.  Bring interesting poems, anecdotes and jokes.  Encourage them to do multilingual skits and plays.  Organize interclass debate.  Make it a point to use all proxy classes for such activities.  Create a bulletin board exclusively for the English club.  Invite some parents and other citizens to join the English Club as patrons and honourary members.  Encourage former students [who are now at a university] to come and talk to the children.  If possible, set up a class library – begin with a collection of cards on which you have pasted reading passages from old magazines. 

We can’t possibly expect every child to attain the same level and to display the same interests.  Why not provide a very wide spectrum of activities from which different individuals and groups can choose what they like ?  In other words, once you step outside the pages of the textbook, sky is the limit.

Reference

Brumfit and Johnson (1979) The Communicative Approach to Language Teaching, Oxford University Press.

Eastwood, John (2000)  Oxford Practice Grammar, Oxford University Press.

Fried-Booth, D (1986) Project Work, Oxford University Press.

Howatt, A. P. R. (1984) A History of English Language Teaching, Oxford University Press.          

Larsen-Freeman, D (2000) Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching, Oxford University Press.

Prabhu, N. S. (1987)  Second Language Pedagogy, Oxford University Press.

Stern, H. H. (1983) Fundamental concepts of Language Teaching, Oxford University Press.

Tickoo, M. L. (2003)  Teaching and Learning English, Orient Logman.

H M Patel Institute of English Training & Research, Vallabh Vidyanagar - 388120, Gujarat, India

Phone : 091-2692-230193, 091-2692-230079