Part I The teaching process
Module 1: Prentations and explanations
Unit One: Effective prentation
Unit Two: Examples of prentation procedures
Unit Three: Explanations and instructions
Module 2: Practice activities
Unit One: The function of practice
Unit Two: Characteristics of a good practice activity
Unit Three: Practice techniques
Unit Four: Sequence and progression in practice
Module 3: Tests
Unit One: What are tests for?
Unit Two: Basic concepts; the test experience
Unit Three: Types of test elicitation techniques
Unit Four: Designing a test
Unit Five: Test administration
The process of teaching a foreign language is a complex one: as with many other subjects, it has necessarily to be broken down into components for purpos of study. Part I prents three such components: he teaching acts of (1) prenting and explaining new material; (2) providing practice; and (3) testing.
In principle, the teaching process of prenting, practicing and testing correspond to strategies ud by many good learners trying to acquire a foreign language on their own. They make sure they perceive and understand new language (by paying attention, by co
nstructing meanings, by formulating rules or hypothes that account for it, and so on); they make conscious efforts to learn it thoroughly (by mental rehearsal of items, for example, or by finding opportunities to practice); and they check themlves (get feedback on performance, ask to be corrected).
Module 1: Prentations and explanations
Effective prentation:
What happens in an effective prentation?
(1) Attention;
(2) Perception;
(3) Understanding;
(4) Short-term memory;
Examples of prentation procedures
A small sample of many prentation techniques available to language teachers:
(1) Reading words;
(2) Learning a dialogue;
(3) Accusations;
(4) Dramatic soliloquy.
Explanations and instructions
Guidelines on giving effective explanations and instructions
(1) Prepare;
(2) Make sure you have the class’s full attention;
(3) Prent the information more than once;
(4) Be brief;
(5) Illustrate with examples;
(6) Get feedback.
Module 2: Practice activities
The function of practice
Practice can be roughly defined as the rehearsal of certain behaviors with the objective of consolidating learning and improving performance. Language learning has much in common with the learning of other skills, and it may be helpful at this point to think about what learning a skill entails. The process of learning a skill by means of instruction has been defined as a three-stage process: verbalization, autoimmunization and autonomy.
Practice is the activity through which language skills and knowledge are consolidated and thoroughly mastered. It is arguably the most important of all the stages of learning; hence the most important classroom activity of the teacher is to initiate and manage activities that provide students with opportunities for effective practice.
Characteristics of a good practice activity
Characteristics of effective language practice
(1) Validity;
(2) Pre-learning;
(3) Volume;
(4) Success-orientation;
(5) Heterogeneity;
(6) Teacher assistance;
(7) Interest.
Module 3: Tests
A test may be defined as an activity who main purpo is to convey (usually to the tester) how well the testee knows or can do something. This is in contrast to practice, who main purpo is sheer learning. Learning may result from a test, just as feedback on knowledge may be one of the spin-offs of a practice activity: the distinction is the main goal.
It is often conventionally assumed that tests are mostly ud for asssment: the test gives a score which is assumed to define the level of knowledge of the testee. This may be in order to decide whether he or she is suitable for a certain job or admission to an institution, has pasd a cour, can enter a certain class. But in fact testing and asssment overlap only partially: there are other ways of asssing students and there are certainly other reasons for testing.
