Format and PresentationGUIDELINES BASED ON ENVIRONMENT AND NEEDS

Based on Environment

Learners The layout of the content should attract the learners. The learners should have the skills to do the activities. The activities should take account of whether the learners share

the same first language. The activities should be suitable for a range of levels of

proficiency in a class. The activities should suit the size of the class. The activities should fit the learning styles of the learners.

Based on Environment

Teachers The activities should be able to be presented and managed by the

teacher [e.g. the teacher should be able to organize group work].Situation The course book should be easy to carry. The material in the course or the course book should not be too

expensive. The amount of material in a lesson should suit the length of a class. The activities should suit the physical features of the classroom [e.g.

move desks for group work; sound proof for oral work].

Based on Needs

Lacks The learners should be able to successfully complete the activities.Wants The activities should take account of what the learners expect to do

in a language learning course.Necessities The kinds of activities should be useful to the learners in their

future use or future learning of the language [e.g. knowing how to rank; knowing how to negotiate].

Principles

Motivation: As much as possible, the learners should be interested and excited about learning the language and they should come to value this learning.

Four strands: A course should include a roughly even balance of meaning-focused input, language-focused learning, meaning-focused output and fluency activities.

Comprehensible input: There should be substantial quantities of interesting comprehensible receptive activity in both listening and reading.

Fluency: A language course should provide activities aimed at increasing the fluency with which learners can use the language they already know, both receptively and productively.

Principles

Output: The learners should be pushed to produce the language in both speaking and writing over a range of discourse types.

Deliberate learning: The course should include language-focused learning on the sound system, spelling, vocabulary, grammar and discourse areas.

Time on task: As much time as possible should be spent using and focusing on the second language.

Depth of processing: Learners should process the items to be learned as deeply and as thoughtfully as possible.

Principles

Integrative motivation: A course should be presented so that the learners have the most favourable attitudes to the language, to users of the language, to the teacher’s skill in teaching the language, and to their chance of success in learning the language.

Learning style: There should be opportunity for learners to work with the learning material in ways that most suit their individual learning style.

Meaning-focused input

Meaning-focused input involves having the opportunity to learn from listening and speaking. low density of unfamiliar language features. focus on the meaning of the message, and a large quantity of

input.Ex: Reading while listening to what is being read.

Meaning-focused output

Meaning-focused output involves learning through speaking and writing. A well-balanced language course spends about one quarter of the

course time on meaning-focused speaking and writing. If a language course has the goal of developing skill in writing,

then there needs to be regular meaning-focused writing. If the language course has the goal of developing skill in speaking,

then there needs to be regular meaning-focused speaking.

Language-focused learning

Language-focused learning involves a deliberate focus on language features such as pronunciation, spelling, word parts, vocabulary, collocations, grammatical constructions and discourse features.

Activities which could occur in the language-focused learning strand of course – intensive reading, pronunciation practice, guided writing, spelling practice, blank-filling activities, sentence completion or sentence combining activities, getting feedback on written work, correction during speaking activities, learning vocabulary from word cards, memorising collocations, dictation and the explicit study of discourse features.

Fluency development

Fluency involves making the best use of what is already known. (1) easy, familiar material, (2) a focus on communicating messages, (3) some pressure to perform at a faster speed, (4) plenty of opportunities for fluency practice.

Blocks

1. Meeting the stimulusit can be more productive at other times not to display all the material immediately. If the stimulus is a picture, allow a brief glimpse.2. AnalysisThe analysis stage involves studying the stimulus to see what is in it once it has been totally revealed or pieced together.3. PersonalisationLinking between the students and the stimulus. In this stage, students can write or speak about how the stimulus is similar to or different from them, what the stimulus reminds them of, if they have ever ..., what they would do if …, etc.

4. Alteration and transferthe alteration and transfer stage encourages them to work with the material flexibly, thus improving thinking and language skills.Options here are making new things from the stimulus, reducing or expanding it, thinking of parallels, opposites or reversals.5. CreationIn the creation stage the students move on from the stimulus, using it as a springboard to new skills or new products. Example activities are role plays or letter writing activities connected with the stimulus

Threads

This series of activities is designed to work on literal and metaphorical uses of basic vocabulary.

The ‘animal’ can be a cat, fish, bird, horse, snake or frog. The first day, one animal is introduced with its basic vocabulary, e.g. a cat: whiskers, paws, claws, tail. When the thread is revisited in the next class these words are reviewed and new ones added, e.g. tabby, tom, kitten. Your choices each time you revisit the animal in subsequent classes are to

review nouns already learned add verbs (hiss, scratch, purr), add adjectives (furry, soft, playful), add strengths and

weaknesses (good hunter, kills things, sleeps a lot), add metaphors (cat’s eyes in the middle of the road, a catty remark, to claw back money in taxes)

introduce new ‘animals’ such as birds and snails, discuss the similarities in what they have (feathers versus slimy scaly skin) and where they live (nest, garden)

ask students to tell you about individual animals of one type that they have known

Nation, I.S.P. & Macalister, J. 2010. Language Curriculum Design. Oxon: Routledge.

Tessa Woodward. 2001. Planning Lessons and Courses. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.