DOCUMENT RESUME ED 352 829 FL 020 863 AUTHOR Arthur, Lore
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 352 829 FL 020 863 AUTHOR Arthur, Lore, Ed.; Hurd, Stella, Ed. TITLE The Adult Language Learner. A Guide to Good Teaching Practice. INSTITUTION Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research, London (England). REPORT NO ISBN-1-874016-30-5 PUB DATE 92 NOTE 179p. PUB TYPE Guides Non-Classroom Use (055) Collected Works General (020) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC08 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Adult Education; Classroom Techniques; Foreign Countries; Guidelines; *Instructional Effectiveness; Language Teachers; Language Tests; Linguistic Theory; *Second Language Instruction; *Second Language Learning; Teaching Methods IDENTIFIERS *Great Britain ABSTRACT Taking into account the British government's decision to include foreign language learning as a foundation subject in the National Curriculum for all school pupils ages 11-16, this guide examines approaches to second language learning for adults. Chapters include the following: (1) The Adult Language Learner (learning as an adult, recognizing learner needs, and facilitating learning); (2) Looking at Language (understanding learning, theories in language teaching, the communicative approach, and strategies);(3) Working Together (lesson planning, presenting new language items, developing receptive and productive skills, developing command of the language, and additional materials and alternative methods); (4) Extending the Professional Context (course design for special purposes, independent learning, testing language performance, and being a professional); and (5) A Suggested Approach (first lesson for beginners and suggestions for classroom activities). An organizational resource list of 26 entries is appended. (LB) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** A guide to good teaching practice U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS Once or Educatanat Research andImprovement INFORMATION MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY EDUCATIONALCENTE RESOURCESERIC, Thisdocument has been reproducedas received from the person ororganaabon onconahng d C Minor changes have been madeto improve reproduCrOn duebty frotort 01 voavo or opanons stated mtrus docu- mentdo notnecessanly represent othc.al TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES OERI posdron or pOlICy INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." Edited by LORE ARTHUR and STELLA HURD 2 C / LT BEST COPY AVAILABLE 1171 The adult language learner A guide to good teaching practice edited by Lore Arthur and Stella Hurd Illustrations by Caroline Mort lock ClLT The views expressed in this book are those of the editors and contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of CILT. Acknowledgements Photographs on the cover and in the book with kind permission of the Brasshouse Centre, Birmingham. It has not been possible in all cases to trace copyright-holders; the publishers would be glad to hear from any such unacknowledged copyright-holder. First published 1992 Copyright © 1992 Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research ISBN 1 874016 30 5 Cover by Logos Design Associates Printed in Great Britain by The Alden Press Published by Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research, Regent's College, Inner Circle, Regent's Park, London NW1 4NS. All rights reserved. No part of the publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the Copyright owner. Contents Page IntroductionThe changing context (Alan Moys) 1 Chapter 1 The adult language learner 5 1 Learning as an adult (Duncan Sidwell 5 2Recognising the learner's needs (Duncan Sidwell) 12 3Facilitating the learning (Duncan Sidwell) 20 Chapter 2 Looking at language 27 4Understanding learning (Lore Arthur) 27 5Theories in language teaching (Lore Arthur) 34 6The communicative approach (Lore Arthur) 40 7Strategies (Lore Arthur) 46 Chapter 3 Working together 53 8Considerations in planning a lesson (Stella Hurd) 53 9Presenting new language items (Rita Sutton) 64 10 Developing receptive skills (Rita Sutton) 72 11 Developing productive skills (Rita Sutton) 82 12 Developing command of the language (Stella Hurd) 92 13 Additional materials & alternative methods (Stella Hurd) 99 Chapter 4 Extending the professional context 111 14 Course design for special purposes (Lore Arthur) 111 15 Developing independent learning (Doreen Markham) 119 16 Testing language performance (Susan Ainslie) 127 17 Being a professional (Susan Ainslie) 136 Chapter 5 A suggested approach 144 18 The first lesson for beginners (Stella Hurd) 144 19 Suggestions for classroom activities (Stella Hurd) 153 About the contributors 168 Useful addresses 170 Introduction The changing context Alan Moys Almost a decade ago I wrote a chapter for the CILT publication Teaching A broader languages to adultsl which was published in 1984. In September of the educational same year, CILT organised a national conference for teachers of languages framework to adults, with a particular focus on the need for professional support, adequate resources and proper recognition for a field which still often attracted Cinderella references even though it represented a major slice of the adult education cake. How much has changed? Perhaps, given the stresses under which adult education has so long operated, the question should be, How much has changed for the better? While it has become something of a cliche to speak of the rate of educational change in recent years, a review of developments as they concern the adult language learner in this country is an exercise which is revealing in its significance for the future in terms both of what happens in classrooms and how the learning of languages fits into a broader educational and social frame. Perhaps the most remarkable- and one hopes the most enduring - change has happened outside classrooms. In the last few years we have witnessed in this country a major surge in the level of public awareness of the importance of competence in languages. Back in 1984, who could have foreseen that by the end of the decade the year 1992 would have taken on an even more apocalyptic symbolism than 1984 itself, for all its Orwellian connotations? Who could have dreamed that in 1990 the Department of Trade and Industry would launch an expensive publicity campaign with full page advertisements in the daily press and posters on street hoardings urging British business to do something about its language skills? Who would have forecast the crop of newspaper articles, television and radio broadcasts, and offers of language courses at all levels which have appeared in recent years? Who would have guessed that many teachers of languages would now be entering in their diaries each year a reminder to attend the London Language Show, another sign of the changing dines? Political and policy decisions have been at the heart of this most The National significant shift in public attitudes, and while it may be debatable just how Curriculum lasting will be the effects, there are good reasons to believe that the dogged British refusal to learn other languages is fast becoming more of a 2 THE ADULT LANGUAGE LEARNER stereotype than an accurate reflection of reality. The Government's decision to include the learning of a foreign language as a foundation subject in the National Curriculum for all school pupils from 11-16 sends very important messages to learners, parents and teachers that this country cannot afford to have half its young people abandon the learning of other languages by the age of 14, which was the position until the National Curriculum legislation was produced. It is also Government policy thatwe should seek to diversify the range of languages on offer in our education system, though any significant reorientation at school level will require substantial funding in terms of linguistic retraining, given the traditional imbalance in favour of French. The European But if policy developments at national level in recent years have reinforced context and reflected changing public attitudes, itis the context of European Community policy which quite naturally lies at the heart of our new view about developing a national capability in languages. On the one hand the legislation leading to the Single European Market is providing aspur to British business to learn to operate in the language of its European customers and competitors. While the economic recession has severely restricted investment in new training just at the time when employerswere becoming convinced of the critical relationship between language competence and business success, there is every sign that the business world in this country is now 'thinking European' on an increasing scale. ERASMUS We would be forgiven for thinking that European policy initiatives have been exclusively in the economic field, but in education also there have been European developments of great importance to the subject under discussion. In particular, Community schemes to promote exchanges and work experience among students and young employees have hada dramatic impact on the 16-25 age-group. An excellent illustration of this effect is provided by the ERASMUS2 programme, a scheme under which students (and indeed teachers) in higher education spenda term in a university in another member state, as part of their degreeprogramme. Such has been the success of