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62 .FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNINGAND TEACHINGTo many people, the most obvious rvay of reducingsome of the power of the language barrier (556) is topromote the teaching and learning of foreign languagesin avariery ofchild and adult educational scttings. Thiswidely practised approach is undoubtedlyvety success-ful, as can be judged by the millions who succeed inmastering a foreign language, even to levels that arecomparable ro those achieved by 'natural' bilinguals(\60). English+peaking monoglots often expressanazement at the linguistic ploficiency displayed byforeigners - not least, the standards routinely achievedin English - and conclude that forcigners must have a'gift' lor langr-rage learning, which they lack, or thatEnglish must be a particularly easy langtage to learn.There is no basis for these suggestions. A lew gifted lan-guage learnerc do exist (p. 364), but most people arriveat their fluenry only as a result ofhard work, expendedover a considerable period of time.On the other hand, there is also a great deal ofeduca-tional failure and lack of achievement in the language-learning lield, which also requires explanatibn. Manypeople, from a variery of linguistic backgrounds, areactually embarrassed by cheir linguistic inadequacywhen travelling abroad, and wish to ovelcome it. Manyhave tried to lealn a foreign language, but have made lit-tle progress in it. 'I was never very good at languages inschool' is a widely heard complaint. It is thereforeimportant to study rhe factors that governsuccess orfail-ure in this field such as the soundness of teachingmethods, the attitudes and rirotivation ofthe learner', theavailability of time and opportunities to learn, the ade-quary ofresources, and the chance to put the languageto active use. It is evidently a complex situation rvhich, inview of the enormous amounts of time and moneyexpended witbin the foleign language 'industr,f all over

individual differences among lcarners, especialiy inpersonaliry and morivation, that can directly iniluencethe reaching outcome. In this view, people are seen tobe largeli' responsible for their own progress. Researchis therefore now direcred not only at the way teachersteach, buc also ar the way learners learn.

The rerm 'acquisirion (Part vrr) is sometimes used toreplace 'learning' in this context, when the emphasis ison the narural, unconscious way in which a learner canassinilate a foreign language (as in bilingual contexts, or.when using one of tl.re 'naiural' approaches to FI.T, p.377). In several approaches, horvevet 'acquisition' and'learning' are carefully distinguished: the former is tl.renresrricted to what rakes place in 'natural' lealning situa-tions; the larter to what rakes place in classr-ooms l'henfollowing a structured course with a teacherFOREIGN AND SECONDSeveral terminologiciLl distincrions are drawn within thisfleld. Apersont'mother rongue'or'first language' (L1) isdistinguished from any lurther languages that may beacquired (L2, L3, etc.). The term 'foreign language' ispopularlyused to referto anylanguage thatis notanativelanguage in a countw; and 'second language'is also cott-monly rced in this way, especially in the U.S. (a usagewhich is increa^-sing worldwide). But many linguists dis-tinguish berween'foreign and 'second' language usei rec-ognizing major differences in thelearning aims, teachingmethods, and achievement levels involved.A foreign latguage (FL), in this more restrictedsense, is a non-native language taught in school thathas no status as a routine medium of co rnrnunicationin that counrry. A rrcozllanguage (SL) is a non-nativelanguage that is widely used lor purposes ofcom muni-Lal:on. u.uJlly a. .r nediurn of e,Jucario r. gorerr.ment, or business. In this usage, English, for e*rmple,has fbreign language status in Japan, but second lan-

BOU LANGERIE =BAKERY?At a purely lnguistlc level,French boularger"ietranslates into English as bakery.However, there is no cultural equlvalence betweenthe two notions: in manyFrench villaqes, the bakerVacts as a social centre inways its English counter

the world, warrants careful investigation. And in recentyea r.. rhe 'rrLrie. r olloreign largu.:ge r e.r. h ing - nd lca rn-ing ha. in Lr,r develul'


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62 .FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNINGAND TEACHING_:::: fcoplc. thc nrost oll.ioLrs \\':u 01_ raahrcinq- : : :hi n{)\1rr o{-thc llngLnge b.rlLi.-r (\\i6) is rr' ..rrrt.rching:rnrl le.rrninqoflotcign llrnqrIirgcs: ,: --. oichilcl ancl :rclult ecluilrionll scrrings. t his- .-:r-ri.ecl apploaclr is unclorLbtedlvvcrvsLrcacs\-.. :.:: 1,. lLrdgccl bv the rnillions tho succcccl in- ::- .r lolciqn languegc, er.en ro lcr,cls rh:rt erc: .: : 1r rhosc echicvrd br' nltural' bilingrLrrls. :-: i'h sp.'ekinu rnonoglors oficn cxprcss-:: .:: .rr rhc Jilquistic ploficienq'tlispl.rlecl br.' - -: - . iror lrasr. rhe srend.rrds routinch rchicved'' '' 1. 'lr I , tr'r.rr t l t\' l. ...:'r:Lrgr 1c:unin . ri'hich th,--1 1:rcl


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6].FOREICN I-,1\CU.\CE LE\R\]\C \\D TFACHING.-: :iarus in Nigeria. The latter term is also used- -.i;rence ro immigrants and indigenous gloups.. L I is a minoriry language: ir.r the USA, lor-:.e. English is a second language for millions of- ::ants ftom a wide range of language back---:. (p. 363) as well as for speakers of Americrn

-_..anguages.

\THY LEARN FOREIGNI,ANCIJACF,S?:::srion requires an answer, in a world where we.-.-rlv 6nd indifference or hostility expressed

--:s lbreign languages and foreign people, where..--..g resources are limited, and where other sub-:lamour for extra slots within the school,l-:rle. The criticisms come ma;nlyflom within the

-.::-speaking rvorld, where FLI has olten been:.::d on the grounds that the time would be better' rn science, mathematics, or the mother tongue.-- reople think that FLI is unnecessary in a world. an increasing number of people understand. ,: (\59).'. \'er. even in pla,e. where I I in'tru. rion i.;-o..: -ire use oftraditional teachingmethods has meant-,rrv pupils find FL worh boring and dif{icult. Inr.:r secondary schools, for example, 600/o drop their,:.. rhree years, and even thosewho pass theirexams-..n unable to use the language for everyday pur-- Such facts fuel the arguments ofthosewho think:,T should become a minority subject or even be':.d lrom the curriculum aftogether

Argumenrs of this lcind are rarely encounrered innon-English-speaking countries, where there is a greatdemand for FL courses. In German secondary schools,for example, all pupils take a foreign language to anadvanced level. In France the figure is around E590. InBritain, the figures are much lower, bur rhe climate isslot'lv changin g. In the I 960s, only 20% ofschoolch il-dren took a foreign language; in rhe early 1980s, rvellover 8090 rvere taking one fbr up to three vears. In theUSA, a Commission on Foreign Language and Inter-rational Studies was ser up in I978 to consider the FL.itrration: ir.orr.lrrJ.drhrr \merrtrr :nromperencein]iLL had rcached the stage where it thleatened nationalsecuriry and economic development (e.g. only 2% ofAmerican scientists could understand matelial pub-lished in Russian). Several recommendations havesince becn made to implove the status and facilities forFL u,ork, at both schooland college levels. Exrra fund-ing has been allocated, both fedelally and privately.Some states (c.g. Michigan) have already mandated anFL component as part ofhigh school celtification.

In Europe, rhc Committee of Ministers of the Coun-cil of Europe has recommended that FLT in schoolsshould be increased and diversified. that childrenshould lcarn more than one foreign language ifpossi-b1e, thar they shotld start as early as possible, and thatfacilities should be made longer-term. There should bea single language policy for a school, in which all lan-guage work (Ll and L2) should be inregrated. In the1980s, sevelal languages associations and conn-ritteeshave reitetated rhis plea, though limited funding hasIed to Iimited implementation.

.\SWERING THE CRITICS-'..-Tworld has not been:tr io rneet the challenge-:_ critics, An enormous-=.uring of intellectual_::.acticaleffort has,i=- devoted to overhaul--: retraditional machin-- :'language teaching.-- r: tame time, the ratio'-='crFLLhascometo be: -: cy defended.:- is no longer a luxury_ :- .nteanationalworld- lt. _


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TH F] COUNCIL OF EUROPI,Rccommendetion R (82) l8 of rhc Cornmittre ofMinisrcrs of rhe (luncil of l.uropc. acloptccl inSeirtembcr l9ll2, is a cleer sraremenr of rhc issucsinvolr.ed in tlic tc:rchilt end lealning of nroclcrn lan-guages. lhc sr:lrenrent recognizes rhrce qcncral prc-nisscs, lbllou'irg these b1'a set ofgeneral and spccilic

P,\RI \. l.\N(,t ,\(:t: tN tl| \\'()RIl)rccornnrclcl:rtions ro do rvith l:ureua.qe lealning itrscirools alcl hi-rther educltion. lirn.qu:rte lealniog bvniglrnts aod theil lirmilies, inirial irnd l rrher rc.rch.rtr:Iining, en(l nrc:rsr.Lres of intclnarion:rl coopctxrion.1_he pt enr iscs, ancl thc sreternent ofqencr.rl mcrrsures t


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'.. .l, r r. \(LAN G UAG E IEARN ING

guage out of the classroonr,so that students see it5 usein a native community.Parenta support seernstobe a critical factor withyounger ch ild ren. l\l oreover, mot vation applies toteacher as wel as student: tis d fficLrlt to teach enthusia5tica ly if it ls known thatmost of the clasg are go ngto droptheir language atthe earliest opportun ty, orthat society plares lrtlestore by it. Attitude toward5 the foreiqn language is important.lf a student perceives acountry or culture to beunp easant, for whateverreason (e.9. its politics, relig on, eating habits), thenegative attitude ls ikely toinfluence language earningachievement and conversely.. Students can benefit frombelng taught to 'lea rn howto learn' foreign languagesusefu gtrategies, such assilent rehearsal, techniquesof memor zatioll, and a ternative ways of expressingwhat they want to say(paraphrase). They may alrobenefit from training in ihekind5 of basic ski ls nvolvedin FLL, such asthose dentified above.. Expos re to (and practice

in) the fore gn languageneeds to be regular aproblem wh ch particularlyaJfecrs FLT in schools, wheretjmetable pressure, exarninations, and holidays mayead to discontinuities.Whenever possible, the aimshould be to teach 'l ttleand oiten'. Too much exposure at any one time can be

as ineffective as too rttle,readi y leading to fatigueand superficial assim lation('qul(kly learned is quicklyforgotten').. Exposure to native use15ofthe forelgn anguage s areal benefit, through theuse of authentic materialt(e g. audio tdpe, video tape,newspaper rbrary) and, inschool, forelgn languageteach ng assirtants. A parale emphasis on output, aswe as nput, s desirabiei'practice makes perfect'. Allimportaft dimension s theuse oJ educationai visitsabroad but these need tobe properly prepared andfol owed up in. dss, and theexperience should enablech ldren to be genuinelyintegrated within the FLenvironment. Out oJ schoolact vities shou d be encouraqed, such as pen fr ends,private exchanges, andweekend culture s mu ation. Teachjng obje.tives needto be careful y se ected andgraded, to perm t realisticprogrest with underach evers, ar well as with thegi{ted. Different k nds ofobjectives should beexplored. Are ali Jour linguist c modes to be intro-duced (5peak ng, lstening,reading, writing), and f so,in which order? M ght linrited competen.e ln two languages be betrer thdn anexcel ent command of one?Should the earne15 beexposed to only ceTtain varietles (51 1) of the foreignla ng uage? Should the focusbe on cornmunicative skil sor on Jormal techniques

(such as translation) (p.:78)? How far shou d L1nput be used rn L2 teach,ing?. Teach in g nrethods needto be flexible to suit rheneeds of individual children{e.g their interests and cognitive skllls) and to makebest use of classroom designand resources (e.9. the ava Iabi ity of audio-vis al a dt.There is no ringle'fornru a'for successful FLT (p. 378).There shou d be opportunlties for tea.hers to interactw th children in groups,pairs, and indlv dua ly, andfor pupils to interact witheach other lJ clasges are toobig, it w ll be imposrible toobta n genuine participat on and pra.tice.. There should be anopportunity to take more

than one fore gn languageln school, to follow them toan advanced leve , and tocont nue w th them afterschoo . Specia arrangements may need to bernade, if volving interschooand oca government coop-erdtion. New comb nationsofsubjects, more suited tothe needs of modern society, shoLrld be introduced,such as FL + science, FL +. Teachertra ning needstocontinue at in service aswell as initiai evels. Teach-ers need to be technicallycomPetent, that is they areable to teach in the foreignanguage, if required. Theyneed to keep themselvesup-to date with the latestresearch into their anguageano socrery, as we I as n FLttechniques.

WHEN SHOU LD t2s BETAUGHT?Trad tioJla ly, L2s have beenntroduced at a relat vely tatestage of deve opment usually aro nd the age of 10 orI 1. ln recent dec.des, thebenefits of an early staft havebeen urged, given the naturalway n which young chi drenlearn anguage (cf. crit.aperiods, p 265), the po5jtiveresu ts ofsome rnmers onprogrammes (p. 369), and theI kelihood that they candevote moretime tothe task.Severa experirnental FL programmes have been tried outin primary schoo , and theireff ectiveness evaluated.The results have beenmixed. FLT with young ch Idren can work well, but only ifearnlng cond t ons are optima . Theteach ng objectivesneedto be inr ted, graded,and clearly defined Spe.ia istteacher need to be avai ab e.Methods need to be devisedthat are appropriate to theinterests and cogn tive evel ofthe.:hlldren. And the transt on to seaondary school needsto be borne in m nd, becauseaack o{.ontinuity can negateprevious work. llnfortunate y,these conditions do not o{tenobtarn. and many early FLTprojects have achieved disap-pointifg resu ts (the greatest

succegs com ng n second language situations, such as rA{rica). Children who sta11 atage l l, ttseems,9oon catch upon thelr I year-old peersHowever, even if formal FLTs not ntroduced, it is stillpossjbleto deve op young chi dren sgenersl anguage awdrenes5to sensitize them towardgthexistence and variety ofthe

Jall guages of others as well asoftheirown ianguage and tofoster the enjoyment that cafcome from being n contactwith fore gn anguages Chil-drencan earn FLgarreg, songs,rhymes, say ngs, everyd.ygreetings, and many basicnot ons (e.9. coLrnting, parts ofthe body, tell ngthctlnre). npart cular, ifpupikfrom otherlanguage backgrounds arepresent, the rnultilingual setting can be l]ted to generate amutual ingu stic and culturalinterest. The experience canprovide a valuable foundat onfor the systernatic study of foreign ldnguages at later ages.nthe 1990s, dn fcreasingnLrlTrber of countrles are introducing a foreign language at

: : :: , et no single the,'i:::r acrount for ihe- :'FLL behaviour,. r:- .'hysome: ir.ceed ntheir_:'eas others fai . A: _:.omplexity of: , -:a ng resear.hers: :::d ned from the. :' relevant factors::.9e-: ear howfarthere:: r I en Lr ine apfitude: en sufficleft: r1, inte ligence,: r r rtLt n ity, anyone: _e anguage;but, s ike yto be essr ; i ce-tain genera-: qualities are pre-.ng these, it has:-rqested, are empa-: :daptability,:ress and indepen: ,. th good drive and: : rf applicatjon Peo:-: to be capable of' :: ng know edge in:.onditions. They: _ave a good rnem-: r be good at finding: -,ln samples of data- luistrc as we I as lin: Cf particular impor-: : :n ab iity to detect' i: : d fferences (e.g. o{-3lody, vowe qual-

: "lething whrch can': i: itself in other: _ slch as drama or: , at on i a central' ;iLrdents need to see_.ign anguages are: riousiy by those:rey respect, espe_ rhe community at: .rco raqement from:rp oyers, civi( nter' :.,,,rn twinning, etc.).: calto take the lan-

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lnterlingual distance The struclural clo5eness of languagesto each other hds o{1en been thoLrght to be animportant factor in FLL. lfthe L2 is structurallv slmilartoth. . . rr s. ain ed. earr'ng croL d bp p",,er'-ra|ncases where the L2 is very different. However, it is not possible to correlate linguistic difference and learning di#i-culty in any straightforward way (p.376), and even thebasic task of quantifying linguistic difference provesto behigh y complex, because ofthe many variables involved.The diagram shows one ana yst,s inJorma estimateofthe structural distance between English and severalotherlangLrages. Pronunciation, spel ing, choice of alphabet(ofthography), grammar, and vocabulary are each raredseparately, using a scale from 1 (least distance)to 5(greatest distance). On this basis, Jtalian comes closesttoEnglish (scoring 6), fol owed by Spanish (7), German (t O),French (12), and Russian (15). German would score higherif Gothic script were taken into account (3 rather tha; 1along the orthoqraphy scale). (After C. V. James, 1979.)

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PART X.LANGUAGF- IN THE \/ORI,T)

As with the study offirst language acquisition (p. 236),several theories of the nature of the FLL process havebeen propounded, with similar issues being addressed.Indeed, comparisons are frequenrly made with thewaychildren learn their firsr language (Ll), as a means ofproviding hypotheses to guide FL research.THE BEHAVIOURIST VI EVi'A great deal of language learning and teaching in the1950s and 1960s was infuenced by the tenets ofbehaviourism (pp.236, 4121.In this view, FLL is seenas a process of imitation and reinforcement: learnersattempt to copywhat theyhear, and by regular practicethey establish a set of:rcceptable habits in the new lan-guage. Propelties of dre L1 are thought to exercise aninfluence on the coulse ofL2 learning: learners 'trans-fer' sounds, structures, and usages from one languageto the other. Awidely used typology distinguishes twokinds of transfer. Similarities between the two lan-guages cause'positive transfer': it proves acceptable touse the Ll habits in the L2 setting (e.g. the assumptionthat the subject goes before the verb satisfactorilytransfers from English to French). Differences causelregative transfer', generally known as 'interference':the L1 habits cause errors in the L2 (e.g. the sameassumption about subject-verb order does notsatisfac-rorily transfer into \(elsh). Typical interference errorsinclrrde: / zaait here since .3 hoars Grorn French) andHolr kngmust m hand in plaster sta\? (from GeIman).Problems ofr-regative transfer are thought co provide amajor source of FLL difficulty. The main aim ofbehaviourist teaching is thus to form new, correct lin-guistic habirs through inrensive practice, eliminatinginterference errors in the process.

There are several problems presented by this accountof FLL. Imitation alone does not provide a means ofidentifying the task facing learners, rvho are continu-:Llly conlronted with the need to creatc and recognizenovel utterances that go bevond the Jimitations ofthemodel sentences they may have practised Nor doesimitation suffice as an explanation ofthe way learnersbehave: not many of the errors that ate theoreticallypredicted by the differences beween L1 and L2 in factoccur in rhe language oflearners; and conversely, othererrols are found that seem unrelated to rhe L1. In a fre-quently-cited early study (H, C. Dulay & M. K. Burt,1973), 145 Spanish-speaking children aged 5 to 8 wereob'ened rnhile learning fngli'h. \ir 'trL.rure. weteselected and the error patterns analysed. It emergedrhat interference errors (such as Thel haue hungerfromElks tienen hambre) accotnted for only 3olo of theerrors made. The majority of the errors (85o/0, with alurther 12% unclear) were thought to resemble rhosethat appear in the course ofLl acquisition (e.g. Thcl

THEORIES OF LANGUAGELEARNINGhungry). Ar'alyses of this kind have proved to be con-troversial (largely because of difficulties in validaringthe error analysis see below), but their general con-clrr.ion i' .. idely 'Lrpporred. Th( \).rcmrri compar i-son ofll and L2, in order to predict areas of greatestle;rning dilfi. ulrl - a procedure l


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62 FOREIGN I,ANGUAC , LEARNING AND'I'IACHlNG,:.s). Moreover, not all errors are equally system-:isruptive, or unacceptable. Erlors of vocabulary,

-:mple, ale less general and predictable than errors. :nmar, bur they arc usuaLly more disruptive of::unication. Some errors, indeed, become so:::ble thar rhey do not disappear: they become:d' tolerated by learners (insofar as they are.]. ol ther bc.;u.e rhct d., not cau'e maiorr. of .ommuni..rtior {e.g the pronun. iarion:.ar constitute a forcign accent).. a1l, elror analvsis is complicated by the fact

. often unclear what the learner intended to say,' :- how to identify the error that has been made.::rple, does The ladl cat it display an error ofthe-,2i"r) or verb - and ifthe latter, should rhe cor-::t be eats, is eating dte, or some other variant?:r iflve assume thar the speaker intended ro sav, : rre srill left with the question of{'hether the:,ne ofpronunciation (the speaker l.Laving di{fi-:h the ltsl cluster') or grammar and, within

'.: heading, whether the difficulq' i.r "".. of mor--- ilack of arvareness of tl-re ending) or syntaxj :*areness ofnumber aireement benveen sub-': .erb) (Sl6).: ' r'r< difficulrie., r(\e.r. h inro error. conti'l-::ovide a fruitful way of investigating the pro--rderlying FL acquisition. However, as with, '.e analy.sis, the approach cannot Provide a: : ixplanation. Most FLL settings do nor co11-r kird ol pure. nattrr'rl lingui'ric 'iruar:on::esupposed by the cognitive approach, but- ..e,nents of formaL teaching, in which learners.ratic:rlly introduced to fragments of the L2: iense at a time). To understand the way lan-, . ne to be learned in these 'mixed' settings, it is' .rno- le.e\\.tr\ in de\;ie more .ophi'ricared. hih lo.u" on the le'rrion'\iP be'*een the.-- of natural acquisition and those of formal-. :nd which pay adequate attention to the: aims ofthe students, and to the natu.re ofthe. ,:-:ng in which FLL interaction takes place

1s somethanq ir the PoetrY ofNtllwnrch rd arwavs td rive. tteI ::J IN LANGUAGE LEARNING' - -:' n this sentence, wriften by a Swedish student,+ " ::-: ghtforward, but lt is not easy to 5ay exactly:_E.rroris, why itwas made, and whetherthe. =- -49 made the best correction, ls the student con-: :E :o and rarl/? Or has he learned the past tense use, - ^ thls context (as in There was something in the' -,- i ch was to I ive forever), and assumed that the, a--::nsewouJdworkinthesameway? lf so' isthere- :,:litional errorlnthepositionof a/ways7And: _:: lorever be a more idiomatic word? The corre': .; :onstructlon in Sw edish ts sam alltid skall leva'- : .' il not explain all that is going on

THE NATURAL ORDER HYPOTHESISDuring the I970s. severalstudies drew attention tothe factthat different FLlearners make similarerrors, regardless of theiranguage background. suchefiorcaslgaing and this abookwere observed inSpanish, Russian, lapanese,and several other earnersof Engllsh. The conclusionwa9 drawn that there mustbe a univer5alcreative Process at work; iearners weresaid to be following a natu_ral'internal 5yllabut {asopposed to the 'external'sy labus of the classroom).Several o{ the errors closelyresembled those made bychiLdren learning theirmother tongue. Analogiesweretherefore drawn withthe'language acquisitiondevice' postulated by somechild-language analysts (p.234), and a parallelwas pro-posed between the naturalorder of Li acquisition andthe way people acquired a

foreign language.Particular attention wasfocused on theway inwhich foreign Learners ofEnglish used a 5et o{ gram-matical morphemes (S 16),such as irg, -ed, and plural-5, which L1 studies hadalready found to beacquired in a certain order(p.244). The errors learnersmade with each item werecounted, and the rnorphemes were ranked on thebasis of how accuratelVtheYwere used. This ranklng wasthen assumed to reflect theorder in which the Learnerswere acquiring these mor-phemes. similar orderswere found in severaL dlf-ferent FLL contexts, in bothspoken and written lan-guage, thus supporting theidea of a natural. unlversalsequence o{ acqulSitionthatwas independentofthe influence of thelearner's f lrst language.lf natural order exists,

there would be major implications for external syllabuses, whlch woLrldpresumably be modified inthat direction. However,criticisms have been madeof this kind oJ approach.Order of acquisition asbased on a cross seclionalstudy of 5peech samplesmay not correspond totheorder of acquisltion thatwou d emerge from a longi-tudinaL rtudy (p. 231). Thefindings are of limited gen-erallty: only a very sma Inumber of grammaticalitems have been analysed,and there have been verYfew 5tLrdles (most oJ whichto date have focused onEnglish, so that it s unclearhow genuine the claimeduniversals are). And differ-ences in acqulsltion orderhave already begun toemerge, castlng doubt onthe universality of the natu-ral order hypothesis.

CHILD VS ADULT ACQUISITIONThe similarities between L1and L2 acquisition errors arestriking, but there are manYdifferences between thetwo kinds of learning sitLlation (over and above issuesof neurological develop-ment, p. 265), which makesit difficult to see a parallelbetween adultforeign lan-guage learners and youngchildren acquiring theirrnothertongue.. The adult has a tet offormed cognitive skilJs andstrategies that should makethe FLLtask easier (e.9. theabilityto mernorize, imi-tate, and use dictionaries).A major asset isthe abilityof most adults to read andwrite,. Adults already have a lan'gua9e, andthis inevitablYreduces their motivation tolearn another beyond minirnal levels. Migrants, forexample, generally learnonlyenoughtoenablethern to survive in their newcountry,. There are several emo-tional differences betweenadults and children when itaomesto learning, ln Partic-uJar, adults are more self-conscious about FLL, and

are less able to assimilatecultural differences.. Adults meet a greatervariety of L2 situations thando children learning their11. Children's needs are alsovery different (e.9. theyneed language for play andemotional expression).Accordingly, the range ofteaching objedives will dif-fer in each case.. The adult has less timeand opportunity than thechild for FLL. Some esti-mates suggest that it takeswell over a year to accumu_late as much L2 experienceas a young child gets {romtheLl in a month.. Adults invariablyfindthemselves in a less naturallearning environment thanchildren.lt is rarely Possibleto devise a teaching situation which closely re5em'blesthat encountered bYthe L1 child, with its one-toone interaction and Stronqemotional (caregiver) suP'port.. There is an uncertain Par-allel between the way inwhiah mothers talk to theirchildren and the way inwh jch people talk to adultsusing a foreign language

('foreigner talk'). CertainlY,adult L1 speakers adapttolearners, and (often uncon-sciously) tryto helP them bYspeaking slower and louder,repeating words, simPlify-ing their grammar, andusing stereotyPed exPres_sions (of which pidgln 5a vvyis probablythe mostfamoud. They also ignoremany errors. But tisun(lear how universal orhow systematicthese inPutstrategiet are.. Similarly, it is unclear howlar teacher language dis-plays correspondences withmotherese (p. 237); the dif-ferences, at present, aremore striking than the simlarities. To facilitate learn-ing, in the early stages,teachers need to keep theirinput relatively simple,interesting, comPrehensible, relevant to the Jearningtask, suff icientlY rePetitivetoenable patterns to beperceived, and capable ofproviding appropriate feed-back, Generalization Provesdifficult, given the greatvariation that exists amongteaching methods (P. 378).


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PART X I,A\GL]A(;E IN I'HL, \\'OIIII)

TE,ACHING METHODSln rhe long search for rhe best rvav oftcaching a foreignl,rnguage, hundrcds ofdiflelent approaches,ot / etl)aA,tr,rr e been devised. llach rnerhod is bascd on a Pa[icular. ie.. oflanguage learning, and usually recommends theusc ofa speciFc set oftechniques and materials, rvirichniat har-e to be in-rplenented in a fixcd seqLlence. Ambi-tious claims are often made for a neu'tcrlching method,bur none has vet bcen shown to be intrinsically supe-rior. The conrcmporar)' attitude is llexible and urilitar-ian: it is recognized that thcre are several lvals ofreaching the goal ofljL competcnce, :rnd that tcachersneecl to be arvare ofa ran e ofnrethods, in order to lindrhe one rrrost eppropriate to the lcarner's needs :rtrd cir-.unstances) and to the obiectives ofthc course. It is fre-qLlcnih-necessary to introduce al eclcctic approach, inu hich aspects ofdillerent methods are selected to mccr'he dcnrr nd. ol1'"r r', r,l" r rc.r, h. rrg .:rt t rr tnrrs.

Sei eral classilications oftcaching n-rethods have beenmlde, in an attempt to imposc some dellree oforder onu hat is a highiy diverse and i.lioslncr-atic field. Sorne;nahsrs make use of the fundamental distinctionbenieen languagc structure (fotm) and language uscltunction) (513). Under the lirst hcading, thev includcrhose n-icrhods that focus on the te:rching of lorrnalrulcs and categolies, and rhar emphasizc rhe impclr-rilncc of accurate wlittelr uanslation :rnd the under-sranding ofliterature. Undcr the second heading, the,vinclude methods tl-r:rt lav stress on the reeching ofactive participation in naturaland realistic spoken ian-3r;ge .err. rg.. a nd $ her( rh. cnt olta.i. :. on . on rrn unicative success rather than on formal acclrracv. Manvapproaches are biased in one or the othcr direcrion,thoush it is also common ro lird approaches that clain.rrn inregrare lhe.r"clgrh' ofLor P".iri"r..Certain methods are rvidely recognized because oftheil inlluential role jn the historv ofidees surroundingrhis subject.

Easy listening New FLT methods are invented every day.Many claim to provide remarkabLe progress - at a price. Thlsdovon i\F-r enl, ral en'ro-n d SoLrl' A'ner r(or' 'rpw(oaper ir1984, is typical of its genre. What makes it especially intr gu-ing is lts proposed integration of behaviourist and mentalist

The grammar translation method This methodderives fiom the traditional approach to the teachingof Latin ancl (}cek, which r.irs particul:rrly influentialin thc 19th cenrury It is basecl on the meticulous anal-lsis ofthc s'rirren language, in rvhich rranslation exer'-cises, reading comprehension, and the $'rittenimitatior-r of tcxts play ir primarv role. Lcarning mainlyinvolves thc mastcrv of grarnmatical rulcs and merno-lization of long lists of Iiterary vocabulary', related tor.'.r. *h.ch'r'eilrc,'e' r'ro|e rnr their p c\Ug:.,,...nr-tcnr than for their interesr or level of linguistic diIfi-culn'. There is little emphasis laid on the activities oflisrening or speahing.'I his apploacl.r dorninared eally rvotk in modern lan-guagc teaching. A ninority srill find its intellcctual discipline appealing; but the vast majoriry ofteachers norvrecogr-rizc thar the apploach does little ro meet the spo-Len language needs and interests of rodafs langu:rgestLldcnts.

The direct method This approach, also knorvn :rsthc ara/ or ndhtal nlethod. is based on the activeinvolvemenr ofthe lealner in spcaking and listening tothe lorcign language in lealistic cvervday situations.No use is made ofthe learner's n-rother tongue; learners:ire elcouraged to think in the foreign language, anclnor ro translate into or out olit. A great deal ofenpha-sis is placed on gootl pronunci:rrion, often introclucittgstudents to phonctic transcription (\27) before thcl'see the standard orthosraph)'. Forrnal grammatic:rlrules and terminolog,v are avoided.The direct method continLres to attracr ;nterest andenthlrsiasm, but it is not an easv approach to llsc inschool. ln rhe artificial environmcnt ofthe classroom,it is difficult to generate natural learning situations andto providc evcrvone wlth sufficient pracrice. Sevetalvariants ofthc merhod have thus evolved. ln palticular,reachers ofien pertriit some degrec of mother-tongueexplanation and granmatical staterncnt ro avoid learn-ers developing inaccurate fluency ('school pidgin).The audiolingual method Also known as theaural oral method, this approach derives from theinrensive training in spol(en langLlages given to Ameri-c:rn milirary personrrel dr,rring the Second -Wotld Var,rvhich resufted in a high degree oflistening and speak-ing sl


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r oRIrcN L.\NC U \cr r ri]llt\i\(; ANt) TIIAall I N(l. -rpploach can instil considerablc convcrsational: in a lealner, and rlls rvideh used, cspcci:rllv in;ils .rnd 1960s. lrs rcliance on drills and habit,::Lrn makes ir lcss popul:u todar.. espccialll' rvith..1'o rr i.r or.r side-r.r'. cut lirr3ni.ric..l'-r.:rd u'ho feel rhc ncccl lbr nor-e crcari\' worl( in

: )roduction.::relhods. rhc 1960s. sevcral lresh approaches to FLL.. ised, airrl i[g tt) provicle a radica] altcrnltive tcrrrl rrcthods, rvhich thcir proponents belier-e: ed. _fhel drerv attention ro thc success \1ithr-'tlple ircqlrire morc thln one languagc all ovcrd (\60), and contrested this rvirh rhc linriLeclr:.lrrs ofthe classroom situ:rtion, ancl rhe par-.nrs ol lc:rrnin.q presented bl the vtt ious Theo:-5). IfFLL coulcl be nade morc nrrurrl. and:rer macle more receptivc to rhc rnsh, it $'as: ::rorc efflcient learning would r esulr.i::.criveness of rhe tliffirent merhods .emainsrrouqhh elaluatcd; but eech has irs rcportcd:i. .1od somc (especialll the first rhree in rhc listrrve conlc to be uJidelv practised. The follorvres (u'irb rhc origin:iror's namc in parenrl-re.-.lte the rhrust of eltch apptoach, bllr tlter.:: r rh ing of dtc crnotion al :rtmosphcrc and sense.ne n r promotccl bi these ncrhods, n h ich ar-e: rheir clairns ofsuccess.re 1980s, the enrph:1sis hirs nlovccl a\{a1- froni.rrq ofneu'methods ro ll concern over er:alua-: lircus is more on der-ising principles and pro

'. hich can bc appliecl ro demonsrrilte hou' well' iq merhod, technigue, resr. rexrbook, erc.,rntemporarl FLf is less coriccrnecl rvith nerv:r n ith polishin.q (and assessing) the old._ _3 by hypnosis An unorthodox method offore qn

; : .arn ng ' am learning English whi e s eepinq,' eays

HUMAN]STIC APPROACH ESSuggestopedia (GeorgLozanov) An approachbased on suggestology, thesc en.e of s ggestion.Devi5ed by a Bu gar an psychiatrist, lt was origina yu5ed as a genera teachingmethod in that country'spr maryschoo s;e sewhere,it has ma nly been appliedin the fie d of adu t FLI Themethod is based on the vrewthatthebran(especa ythe r ght hemisphere, 45)has great unused potentia ,which can be exp oitedthrough the power of suqgestion. La ngLrage learningcan be promoted by drawing on the reserve capacitiesofthe unconsclous ra ind.Blocks to learning areremoved (u ing'desuggest on'techniques), and a pos-Itive attitude towardslanguage earning devel'oped ('resuggest on').ln the r openinq lesson(or'concert ), earners arepresented w th argeamounts of the {or 9n anguage Thetext istrannated,then t s read a oudn a dranrat c way a galngt abackground of classicamus c. The aim s to prov dean atmosphere of totalre axat on and enjoyment,in wh ch learning i5 inc denta. Aftera serr on, thereshould be a sense of euphoria, reminiscent of the feelingsthatfo lowa vis tto ahealth rpa (the'spa effect').

By using a large amount ofinguistlc mater a , the 5ug-geet on s conveyed that lan-guage earning ls easy andnatura . ln a later gession,students use the mater a nvariou5 coanmun cativeactivitles. The enrphas s,then is whol y on in{ormalCommun cation; no atten-tion is drawn to grarnmaticalerrors. Learners, it isc ainred, assimilate far morefrom gLrch an'irnmersion'than wou d traditional y be

Ihe sllertway (Ca eb Gat-tegno)Thsapproacham,to prov de an environmentwhich keps the arnou nt ofteaching to a minimum andencourages learners to

develop their own ways ofusing the languag elements ntroduced. ln thefirst lesson, the teacherintroduces a small L2 vocabulary to talk about a set ofco oured rods, Lrsinq a fewverbs (equivalent to 'lake','give','pick up', and'put ),adlectives, pronoL.rns, etc.,and gradual y extendrrlgthe /ength ofthe rentence(e.9. 'Take the green rodand g;ve itto Michae '). Theaim s to help the learners tobecome qelf-re ant toelectthe r own sentencesand b n controlofthem,w th good intonation andrhythm. The teacher doernot repeatthe mater a orprovide sentences {or studentsto imitate; and no Lrsei5 madeofthe earnerg' 11.Charts containing vocabulary and colour codedguides to pronunciation arernade avai ab eto enab -.the teacher to gL.rlde the studntl learning whi e ray ngas litt e as possible. As students say rnoreto eachother, so the teacher saysiess hence the 's lent'way.Tatal physica I respanse(James i. Asher) Thlsrn ethod tresses the lmportance of aura comprehengion as an exclusive a m inthe ear y months of earn-ng. The name derives fromthe emphasis on the actionsthat learners have to aaak,asthey are given s mplecommands (e.g 'stand"'sit', 'stop'). Mor-. advancedlanguage is introduced bybuilding up cha ns ofactions, using either spokenor wrltten commands

seekfromthete..".':,equiva ents for,..'.:: - -want to say The:e;:_:provides the trans :: r-and the 5tudents .?a::: :Each sersion is t; p.recorded, and It f. :..:lby a d scuss on .. :. :':teacherofwhat\'.:_::'Naturalappraaci - .,.D. Terrell)Th s.rei^::emphasizes :he ro : :' -,:ura 'language ac:- , . _and underscores a-. :._,e s between L2 ... -'stresses the mpoa.-:- :emotional rather :-:_ : : :nit ve factors in e;-_ _:andofmaqternc..:::-lary rather tha n .; - -.ica rules. There s"a':'-,correction. The d -_ .estabishanab:r::, ristand the bas c co_::_: : - :comrnun cat or"r l. _':_-:settings. Learne. -;: : -:Ll wh leihe r 12..-. :hnsion is devr c. -,

Languagefran.. .' '(Bever y Ga jrean -_ :method enaoLrra :: =,'_erstobeintrospe..=aboutthe r o\i'n -aa:iinterests, va ues.:': -:-:and now' aci t e: -_:::ta k about these e-: : _.resPonses io othe'r Irnaterla come5 fr3- :--gtudents, as ihei r::: _ =rrore geif awarE,.-: :- .up a close re atlors- a , :ea.h other The alr_ r::enab e thc cognit ,,. ._=tive, and lnterecti E : =ments ln learn n9 i. ' : ,together' l.en.e:": : ::native nime for thaPProach,'conf Lr. -:teaching.

Community language Delayed oralprac: ../earnlng (CharesA.cur (VaerianA Posto,.r


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|,\IiI X L_.{\(iL.\(;1, l\ tHL \\'()Rtt)].i\ I ERIALS_r a-:-L \ :Lrc lri ng gotrc l hcn F I T marerials colsisredj: .r {rilmmil L)ook and r dicrionrnr'lbrlav. thcre. .:.r',.,.rierl ofprinrcd marcrials course bo,,ks,.:r.r,rki. rerders, progra[lmcd coutscs. collecriotist i.-.::ril. nlterial. sirlpliliccl litenture, cuc calcls,-:: :i. :r:\\\Lrlpers, m:1gilzincs. losters, picturc cards,- :- - .. .rnJ nruch morc. These are supplerncltccl bv:::: rr: m.ttL'1i:1ls usilrg olher nteclia, such:rs (iDs,-:- -ii. -:-r.lio r:rpes. sliclcs. tnnspaldrcics, filnsrr iprs,:: :.:.-r.i. ro\\. q:rmes, rnd ptrppers. l_hc aclvcnt ofr_:: :.: iaahnolog| introduces l fttrrheI potcr[ialh,. -:..iLL.lr cionrlin of :Lncillrn'equiprncor:rnd e:i :.':a oiDa\\'inrefuction rcchniclucs. lf nrocldllI : -:_ ..,-ngu:lga te:Lchin-q .rn11 leilrail)g, InalcriaLlsr .:- ::rl inrPL.Dientxrion is r m;tjor.l]l.]plisc rhe':. :--:: rh. principles of epplicd linqLListic rheo r',: -.::r.:rlli oicli\sr(xtm pracricr', antl thc re:rliti.-s of- - :r-:.rl proclucrion lic une;rsil\-rogcthcr.


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: .ANGUAGE LABORATORY:j1 knowntechno og ca aid nFLTi5undoubtedlythe an: :boratory a roonr, usually divided lnto booths, where stu: :an l5ten ndividua y to tape record ngs of FL rnateria , and::rey may re.ord and p ay back iheir own response5, whi e: ronltored by a teather'.r these laborator es were first lntroduced, they were hera ded::. nique th at would vastly mprove the rate and quality of FLL

rLr d take the burden of repetitive dri s away from the:' jrrovlde more opportun ties for learners to pract se lstenlng:r:3 king, and ena b le them to develop at their own rates and' : ihelr own progress Many s.hoo E were quick to inst.ll: .e aboratoryequlpment. Howevctwith n afewyears, it: apparent that there,Jvou d be no breakthroLrgh The::l rnprovements d d not emerge, and the popularity ofthe: iJe ab'sho\rd a marked dec ine.: : rere several rea ons for the fa urc to live up to expecta^e taped nrater aLs were often poor y des gned, leadlng to: ' :rr,stration and boredom. The pub ished programmes fa ed: -: thc k nd of work the student was do ng ln.: ass Few mod. : rage5staff hddrecevedtrainlnginrnateralsdeslgnorlabo-)e And it proved d fflcult to maint; n the equipment once it:.:_ nstalled.: the trengths and ni lations ofthe aboratory are better

: and the vastly lncreased potent ai of modern e ectron cr-. hai led to a certain reviva . There is now conslderab e inter. -guage learntng laborarories, which contaln rnuch more thd n. : :ional syttems - ln palt cLrlar, the ntroduct on of intcrdctive: :riicna aids and v deo rraterla s has proved to be extreme y

- .'.'( ear that, when used proper y, aboratories can provlde a- :xtra d mension to FLT. For exarnp e, the taped materia can: . ar ety of a thent c and we recordcd rnodels for the: rf sten ng comprehension. And aboratoris can be Lrsed as: .-.ntres, or braries, giving earners extra opportun t es to- .i th r chosen leve .= rame tlme, the limitat ons of iaborator es must be borne n-: TVa Lrew I a ways depend on the development of appro_:,:.h ng materials whlch reinforce what has been taught in: orov de opportun tles for.reat ve use; and here ther is an':d for research into the eff cacy of the di{{erent

r:_:s which have been d-"vised. Laboratory software, lt seems,:.rayto go before it.ancompare insophisti.ation withthe

l:()lil l(lN L\\(iL l(ll: I ll \li\l\(l \\l) I l: \(llll\(;

A language laboratory thit ri.orporates conputer assisted language lea rn ing(CALL) work statlon5. Mltlocomputers, used as word proces5ors, cornplement theaLrdio far ities, enablirrg ntera.tlveteach ng of wr tten lanquag sk Js Severakinds of FLT exercise .an be computat ona ly control ed, guch as sentence restTuc_turlng, ch-.ck ng oftranslation ord.tatlontasks, and clozetest ng Gee be ow)Lrsing text5 disp ayed on the srreen. These days, lncreasing y ingenlous and motlvatng intera.tiv games are ava ab e, u5ing computationa techniques ln Storyboard,for examp e, earnerg are q ven a passaqe of b anks;they have to 'buy' words andcomplete the pas5age beforc th eir supp y o{ money runs out

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Atypica sequence of events on a anguagelaboratorytape lnthis l stration,thetapc is doub track, ena bl nq the forcign mode to be recorded on one track, and thelearner'svoiceontheotherAnexampeofonekindofdrl lsgiven Learnersfirst heara sample renten.e, and are q ven a ttirnulus to respond to (A). Theythen record theirrespor]5e (8), hear the correct versior (C), and have af opportunity to repeat 1(D)

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. : _eed to test stu.:_ l.rnance, or enter' 'orma exam na_:: resu ts are cr tlaal,::ciuse theY affect:.r: beca Lrse of the:- :'r ey exercrse on' . ide y apprecl:':asts performavari

_ - ons. Four main: ,sual y recognized.::..ytesir deter: . Tuch ofthe L2 a:5 mastered, regard- :o rse of studY fol

: r.:r Test of Eng ish: rir Lang uage.: :rnn t te5t5 deter-: . TLrrh of a particu: - cf 5tudy has been:r These are corn

mon y used at the end of5.hoo terms. Dlaqr05ill: te5t5 d m tof nd out urhat a student stilhas to earn ln a languageThe results prov de feedbackfor the teacher, by d/splaying the learner's strengthsand weaknesses. A thoughthey are very different fromach evement tests (e.g theyare not a way5 g ven marksor graded), students oftenfallto see the dlfference. Pragnastic (ot aptitude)terts try to Pred ct how wea pereon w lsu.ceed ifearning an 12. These testsfo.us on specific k inds ofact v ty (e.9. sound mitation, pattern metch ng), andprovide data about nd vidua difficu tles.Testing can focus on any

I nguist c sk (speak ng,listen ng, read ng, writing)and on any lnquistic component (e g. vocabu arY, Pro'n Lrnciat on, grammar,spelling). Many ways of elicrting informatro]l have beendev ied;such as asking students to make a tra n5 ation,carry out an action, or glve aparaphrase. Ant cipating theeffects of a task s not easy,however;a question may beunnecessar ly diff cu t, or ananswer may requ re lnformat on that has not beentaught. t sthere{ore a l\,\'aysne.ssarY to ook crit callY attest procedures, and to a mfor improvemcnt5 in te tdeslgn, se ection, andadminlstration.

Annlrr: Srrsie s:ritl rhat thcr c were no (l J rh ings s hir ics,ellcs, rhis rh:u end (l) orhcr: \\i11. thc niqht sirc put her(3) Lrn(ju rhc Irill.^\'\'e theot to Ptrr (:il m(lrrcv rhere,rnrt Lekc ir r*,n rve (i) all.rhour it. (C /a4ql,') So shc gotqrr(rI rhc mominq. \Il toorhs aL1gone rnd (7)rroner: Derc s:Litl, \\'ell, rhcrcvou (S) r'ousce. You sridrrrrr diclni btli.'r e (9) liiricsrhorvcanvoucxpectthei 10) io coDre:Lnd see\1)u if... . Oh r1 l)- ldo belielc inliirics {l) lar3l,.). voLr hrorr (I)) reJlvrlo. (L.1ar3lr'1. Sol).rve seid. \\i:ll, rrr' (Ll) toniehr.' So dr.rr night, thanksoodness, rre (1/i) {(i lrrr.q/:,,J So thc ncxt morninirshe gc.stup l15l h.ppr 'l)h, th.:v rc been. drc\'\'c bccn...clozetesting n thi5 kind of language test, every nth wordl5 omltted from a pa5sage (the gaps are usua ly betwen fiveand seven word5 apart), and the student has to complete (or'close )the gap5 Thisformof tesring iswdelyu5ed:ltisqoodat estab ishing whether a student has a 'fee ' for the language, and fortesting awareness of po nts of deta L severatypes of cloze test exlst; for example, etudents can be glventhe omltted words be ow the passage, or they.an be glven aninit a letter a5 a cLLre ln the examp e above, taken from aworkbook on conversat onal Engl sh, there are no c ues:thestudentmustf I inanyappropriateword, bearinq n mindthe informalsty e of the passage (K Morrow1978,p 49.)

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