PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

METHODOLOGY
TOPIC
1
UNDERSTANDING LANGUAGE
1 HR
SYNOPSIS
In this topic you will be exposed to the definition and concept of language,
the communication process, the components of language and the factors
affecting language learning and acquisition.

LEARNING OUTCOME
i. Understand the definition and concept of language
ii. Identify aspects of language acquisition and language learning
iii. Explain the communication process.
iv. Identify the components of language.
v. Explain factors affecting language learning
vi. Explain the assessment of listening comprehension
vii. Identify and apply techniques of teaching listening comprehension
in different contexts..
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PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING
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Conceptual Framewor of !opics
1.1 Introduction to Language
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Understanding
"anguage
#.$ !he Comunication %rocess
#.& Factors affecting language learning '
acquisition
#.&.# Cognitive
#.&.$ Environment
#.&.( )e*ala sosial
#.( Components of language
#.(.# +ementics #.(.& +yntax
#.(.$ %honology #.(., %ragnatics
#.(.( -orphology
#.# Introduction to. "anguage
/efinition
Concept
PKB 3105 ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING
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"anguage is common to all humans. -any social scientists and
philosophers say it0s this ability to use language symbolically that maes us
1human.2
!hough it may be a universal human attribute, language is hardly simple.
1.1.1 Deinition o Language
+ome say it is a body of words and the systems for their use
common to a people who are of the same community or nation, the
same geographical area, or the same cultural tradition.
It can also mean communication by voice in the distinctively human
manner, using arbitrary sounds in conventional ways with
conventional meanings.
It is also the system of linguistic signs or symbols considered in the
abstract 3 as opposed to speech4.
It is any set or system of such symbols as used in a more or less
uniform fashion by a number of people, who are thus enabled to
communicate intelligibly with one another.
It is also any system of formali5ed symbols, signs, sounds,
gestures, or the lie used or conceived as a means of
communicating thought, emotion, etc.It is also the language of
mathematics.
1.1.! Conce"t o Language
!ransformational )enetive )rammara theory developed by 6oam
Chomsy between #7,8 and #798 contains the idea that a sentence has
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two meanings within it. !he two include a deep structure and a surface
structure. !he deep structure is the semantic relationships within the
sentence and the surface structure follows the phonological form of the
sentence. :e believed that language did not have the same deep structure
in all languages but rather languages had similarities of structure. In the
#778s, Chomsy changed his theory to a new theory stating that the
structures were no longer the only main components of a sentence. :e
suggested that sentence structure included "ogical Form and %honetic
Form. !his help children understand that speech can come in the form of
writing.!herefore, we must develop children;s understanding that writing is
a message in the form of print and that print is constant. <e must also
show that written language is often different from spoen language. <e
must teach that numbers, letters and words are different. !eachers must
also show the difference between a letter, a word and a sentence. <e
have to help children understand that a letter or letters represent a sound
within a word. <e must show them that words form sentences and
sentences form messages or stories. !he understanding of the correct
usage of language will enable and ease the communication process.
1.! T#e co$$unication "roce%%
Communication is a process of exchanging verbal and non verbal
messages. It is a continuous process. %re=requisite of communication is a
message. !his message must be conveyed through some medium to the
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recipient. It is essential that this message must be understood by the
recipient in the same terms as intended by the sender. :e must respond
within a time frame. !hus, communication is a two way process and is
incomplete without a feedbac from the recipient to the sender on how well
the message is understood by him.
Co$$unication Proce%%
#.$.# !he main co$"onent% o co$$unication "roce%% are as follows.
1. Conte&t ' Communication is affected by the context in which it taes
place. !his context may be physical, social, chronological or
cultural. Every communication proceeds with context. !he sender
chooses the message to communicate within a context.
2. Sender ( Encoder )!the +ender ' Encoder is a person who sends
the message. > sender maes use of symbols 3words or graphic or
visual aids4 to convey the message and produce the required
response. For instance = a training manager conducting training for
new batch of employees. +ender may be an individual or a group or
an organi5ation. !he views, bacground, approach, sills,
competencies, and nowledge of the sender have a great impact on
the message. !he verbal and non verbal symbols chosen are
essential in ascertaining interpretation of the message by the
recipient in the same terms as intended by the sender.
3. Me%%age ' -essage is a ey idea that the sender wants to
communicate. It is a sign that elicits the response of recipient.
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Communication process begins with deciding about the message to
be conveyed. It must be ensured that the main ob*ective of the
message is clear.
4. Mediu$ ' -edium is a means used to exchange ' transmit the
message. !he sender must choose an appropriate medium for
transmitting the message else the message might not be conveyed
to the desired recipients. !he choice of appropriate medium of
communication is essential for maing the message effective and
correctly interpreted by the recipient. !his choice of communication
medium varies depending upon the features of communication. For
instance = <ritten medium is chosen when a message has to be
conveyed to a small group of people, while an oral medium is
chosen when spontaneous feedbac is required from the recipient
as misunderstandings are cleared then and there.
5. Reci"ient ( Decoder ' ?ecipient ' /ecoder is a person for whom
the message is intended ' aimed ' targeted. !he degree to which the
decoder understands the message is dependent upon various
factors such as nowledge of recipient, their responsiveness to the
message, and the reliance of encoder on decoder.
6. *eed+ac, ' Feedbac is the main component of communication
process as it permits the sender to analy5e the efficacy of the
message. It helps the sender in confirming the correct interpretation
of message by the decoder. Feedbac may be verbal 3through
words4 or non=verbal 3in form of smiles, sighs, etc.4. It may tae
written form also in form of memos, reports, etc.
1.!.! Co$$unication -arrier% ' Rea%on% or Co$$unication
-rea,do.n
Communication is a process beginning with a sender who encodes the
message and passes it through some channel to the receiver who decodes
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the message. Communication is fruitful if and only if the messages sent by
the sender is interpreted with the same meaning by the receiver. If any
ind of disturbance blocs any step of communication, the message will be
destroyed. /ue to such disturbances, managers in an organi5ation face
severe problems. !hus the managers must locate such barriers and tae
steps to get rid of them.
!here are several barriers that affects the flow of communication in an
organi5ation. !hese barriers interrupt the flow of communication from the
sender to the reciever, thus maing communication ineffective. It is
essential for managers to overcome these barriers. !he main barriers of
communication are summari5ed below.
The following are the main communication barriers:
#. Perce"tua/ and Language Dierence%0 %erception is generally
how each individual interprets the world around him. >ll generally
want to receive messages which are significant to them. @ut any
message which is against their values is not accepted. > same
event may be taen differently by different individuals. For example .
> person is on leave for a month due to personal reasons 3family
member being critical4. !he :? -anager might be in confusion
whether to retain that employee or not, the immediate manager
might thin of replacement because his teams productivity is being
hampered, the family members might tae him as an emotional
support.
!he linguistic differences also lead to communication breadown.
+ame word may mean different to different individuals. For example.
consider a word 1value2.
a. <hat is the 1a/ue of this "aptopA
b. I 1a/ue our relationA
c. <hat is the 1a/ue of learning technical sillsA
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112a/ue2 means different in different sentences. Communication breadown
occurs if there is wrong perception by the receiver.
$. Inor$ation O1er/oad0 -anagers are surrounded with a pool of
information. It is essential to control this information flow or else the
information is liely to be misinterpreted or forgotten or overlooed. >s a
result communication is less effective.
(. Inattention0 >t times we *ust not listen, but only hear. For example a
traveler may pay attention to one 16B %>?CI6)2 sign, but if such sign is
put all over the city, he no longer listens to it. !hus, repetitive messages
should be ignored for effective communication. +imilarly if a superior is
engrossed in his paper wor and his subordinate explains him his problem,
the superior may not get what he is saying and it leads to disappointment
of subordinate.
&. Ti$e Pre%%ure%0 Bften in organi5ation the targets have to be achieved
within a specified time period, the failure of which has adverse
consequences. In a haste to meet deadlines, the formal channels of
communication are shortened, or messages are partially given, i.e., not
completely transferred. !hus sufficient time should be given for effective
communication.
,. Di%traction(Noi%e0 Communication is also affected a lot by noise to
distractions. %hysical distractions are also there such as, poor lightning,
uncomfortable sitting, unhygienic room also affects communication in a
meeting. +imilarly use of loud speaers interferes with communication.
9. E$otion%0 Emotional state at a particular point of time also affects
communication. If the receiver feels that communicator is angry he
interprets that the information being sent is very bad. <hile he taes it
differently if the communicator is happy and *ovial 3in that case the
message is interpreted to be good and interesting4.
D. Co$"/e&it3 in Organi4ationa/ Structure0 )reater the hierarchy in an
organi5ation 3i.e. more the number of managerial levels4, more is the
chances of communication getting destroyed. Bnly the people at the top
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level can see the overall picture while the people at low level *ust have
nowledge about their own area and a little nowledge about other areas.
E. Poor retention0 :uman memory cannot function beyond a limit. Bne
can0t always retain what is being told specially if he is not interested or not
attentive. !his leads to communication breadown.
1.!.5 O1erco$ing Co$$unication -arrier%
!here are a lot of communication barriers faced these days by all. !he
message intended by the sender is not understood by the receiver in the
same terms and sense and thus communication breadown occurs. It is
essential to deal and cope up with these communication barriers so as to
ensure smooth and effective communication.
>s, in the previous section we have discussed the ma*or barriers of
communication. "et0s tal about #o. to o1erco$e t#e%e +arrier% o
co$$unication.
1. E/i$inating dierence% in "erce"tion0 !he organi5ation should
ensure that it is recruiting right individuals on the *ob. It0s the
responsibility of the interviewer to ensure that the interviewee has
command over the written and spoen language. !here should be
proper Induction program so that the policies of the company are
clear to all the employees. !here should be proper trainings
conducted for required employees 3for eg. Foice and >ccent
training4.
2. U%e o Si$"/e Language0 Use of simple and clear words should
be emphasi5ed. Use of ambiguous words and *argons should be
avoided.
3. Reduction and e/i$ination o noi%e /e1e/%0 6oise is the main
communication barrier which must be overcome on priority basis. It
is essential to identify the source of noise and then eliminate that
source.
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4. Acti1e Li%tening0 "isten attentively and carefully. !here is a
difference between 1listening2 and 1hearing2. >ctive listening means
hearing with proper understanding of the message that is heard. @y
asing questions the speaer can ensure whether his'her message
is understood or not by the receiver in the same terms as intended
by the speaer.
5. E$otiona/ State0 /uring communication one should mae effective
use of body language. :e'she should not show their emotions while
communication as the receiver might misinterpret the message
being delivered. For example, if the conveyer of the message is in a
bad mood then the receiver might thin that the information being
delivered is not good.
6. Si$"/e Organi4ationa/ Structure0 !he organi5ational structure
should not be complex. !he number of hierarchical levels should be
optimum. !here should be a ideal span of control within the
organi5ation. +impler the organi5ational structure, more effective will
be the communication.
7. A1oid Inor$ation O1er/oad0 !he managers should now how to
prioriti5e their wor. !hey should not overload themselves with the
wor. !hey should spend quality time with their subordinates and
should listen to their problems and feedbacs actively.
8. Gi1e Con%tructi1e *eed+ac,0 >void giving negative feedbac. !he
contents of the feedbac might be negative, but it should be
delivered constructively. Constructive feedbac will lead to effective
communication between the superior and subordinate.
9. Pro"er Media Se/ection0 !he managers should properly select the
medium of communication. +imple messages should be conveyed
orally, lie. face to face interaction or meetings. Use of written
means of communication should be encouraged for delivering
complex messages. For significant messages reminders can be
given by using written means of communication such as . -emos,
6otices etc.
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10. */e&i+i/it3 in $eeting t#e target%0 For effective communication in
an organi5ation the managers should ensure that the individuals are
meeting their targets timely without sipping the formal channels of
communication. !here should not be much pressure on employees
to meet their targets.
1.! Co$"onent% o /anguage
:uman language involves both receptive and productive use. ?eceptive
language use occurs during the comprehension or understanding of words
and sentences. %roductive language use involves idea generation and the
articulation of words in speech. @oth reception and production utili5e the
four basic structural components of language.
1.5.1 Se$antic%
!he system of meanings that are expressed by words and phrases. In
order to serve as a means of communication between people, words must
have a shared or conventional meaning. %icing out the correct meaning
for each new word is a ma*or learning tas for children.
6ot only does the grammatical structure of our language provide the
needed clues for understanding, we also have a wealth of figurative
language and rich description that adds color and nuance to our
communication. Semantics refers to the ways in which a language conveys
meaning.
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It is our understanding of semantics that allows us to recogni5e
that someone who is 1green with envy2 has not changed hue, or that
1having cold feet2 has less to do with the appendage at the end of our legs
and more to do with our anxiety about a new experience. @ecause
semantics moves beyond the literal meaning of words and is culture=
dependent, this is among the most difficult aspects of language for
individuals who are not native speaers and even those who spea the
same language but come from different cultures and convey meaning
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using words in unique ways. >nyone who has attempted to converse with a
teenager in his own vernacular can appreciate the importance of sharing a
semantic base for communicating clearly.
1.5.! P#ono/og3
!he system of the sound segments that humans use to build up words.
Each language has a different set of these segments or phonemes, and
children quicly come to recogni5e and then produce the speech segments
that are characteristic of their native language.
!he study of speech structure within a language, including both the
patterns of basic speech units and the accepted rules of pronunciation, is
nown as phonology.
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!he smallest units of sound that mae up a
language are called phonemes. For example, the word 1that2 contains
three phonemes the 1th2 represents one phoneme 'th', the 1a2 maps to the
short a sound 'G', and the 1t2 to its basic sound 't'.
1.3.3 Mor"#o/og3
2 -oving to the next level of language, we find the study of the smallest
units of meaning, morphemes. -orphemes include base words, such
as 1hat,2 1dog,2 or 1love,2 as well as affixes, such as 1un=,2 1re=,2 the
plural 1s2 or 1es,2 and the past tense 1ed.2 Cnowledge of the
morphology of our language is critical to vocabulary development and
reflects the smallest building blocs for comprehension.
1.5.6 S3nta&
!he study of how individual words and their most basic meaningful
units are combined to create sentences is nown as syntax. >s words are
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grouped together when we communicate, we must follow the rules of
grammar for our language, in other words, its syntax. It is the nowledge of
syntax that allows us to recogni5e that the following two sentences, while
containing different word order and levels of complexity, have the same
meaning.
!he boy hit the ball.
!he ball was hit by the boy.
+yntax also allows us to accept 1I went to the store2 as a meaningful
3grammatical4 sentence while 1!o store went I2 would not be acceptable
English.
1.5.7 Prag$atic%
!he system of patterns that determine how humans can use language in
particular social settings for particular conversational purposes. Children
learn that conversations customarily begin with a greeting, require turn
taing, and concern a shared topic. !hey come to ad*ust the content of
their communications to match their listener;s interests, nowledge, and
language ability.
1H%ragmatics0 refers to the ways the members of the speech
community achieve their goals using language.2
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!he way we spea to our
parents is not the same as the way we interact with a sibling, for example.
!he language used in a formal speech may bear little resemblance to what
we would hear at a lunch with five friends. !he conversational style of day=
to=day interactions is quite different from the language used even when
reading a storyboo to a toddler. Cnowing the difference and when to use
which style is the essence of pragmatics.
1.6 *actor% aecting /anguage /earning ( ac8ui%ition
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+ome students learn a new language more quicly and easily than others.
!his simple fact is nown by all who have themselves learned a second
language or taught those who are using their second language in school.
Clearly, some language learners are successful by virtue of their sheer
determination, hard wor and persistence. :owever there are other crucial
factors influencing success that are largely beyond the control of the
learner. !hese factors can be broadly categori5ed as internal and external.
It is their complex interplay that determines the speed and facility with which
the new language is learned.
Interna/ actor%
Internal factors are those that the individual language learner brings with
him or her to the particular learning situation.
Age0 +econd language acquisition is influenced by the age of the
learner. Children, who already have solid literacy sills in their own
language, seem to be in the best position to acquire a new
language efficiently. -otivated, older learners can be very
successful too, but usually struggle to achieve native=speaer=
equivalent pronunciation and intonation.
Per%ona/it30 Introverted or anxious learners usually mae slower
progress, particularly in the development of oral sills. !hey are less
liely to tae advantage of opportunities to spea, or to see out
such opportunities. -ore outgoing students will not worry about the
inevitability of maing mistaes. !hey will tae riss, and thus will
give themselves much more practice.
Moti1ation0 Intrinsic motivation has been found to correlate strongly
with educational achievement. Clearly, students who en*oy language
learning and tae pride in their progress will do better than those
who don;t.
Extrinsic motivation is also a significant factor. E+" students, for
example, who need to learn English in order to tae a place at an
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>merican university or to communicate with a new English
boy'girlfriend are liely to mae greater efforts and thus greater
progress.
E&"erience%0 "earners who have acquired general nowledge and
experience are in a stronger position to develop a new language
than those who haven;t. !he student, for example, who has already
lived in ( different countries and been exposed to various languages
and cultures has a stronger base for learning a further language
than the student who hasn;t had such experiences.
Cognition0 In general, it seems that students with greater cognitive
abilities will mae the faster progress. +ome linguists believe that
there is a specific, innate language learning ability that is stronger in
some students than in others.
Nati1e /anguage0 +tudents who are learning a second language
which is from the same language family as their first language have,
in general, a much easier tas than those who aren;t. +o, for
example, a /utch child will learn English more quicly than a
Iapanese child.
E&terna/ actor%
External factors are those that characteri5e the particular language
learning situation.
Curricu/u$0 For E+" students in particular it is important that the
totality of their educational experience is appropriate for their needs.
"anguage learning is less liely to place if students are fully
submersed into the mainstream program without any extra
assistance or, conversely, not allowed to be part of the mainstream
until they have reached a certain level of language proficiency.
In%truction0 Clearly, some language teachers are better than others
at providing appropriate and effective learning experiences for the
students in their classrooms. !hese students will mae faster
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progress.
!he same applies to mainstream teachers in second language
situations. !he science teacher, for example, who is aware that she
too is responsible for the students; English language development,
and maes certain accommodations, will contribute to their linguistic
development.
Cu/ture and %tatu%0 !here is some evidence that students in
situations where their own culture has a lower status than that of the
culture in which they are learning the language mae slower
progress.
Moti1ation0 +tudents who are given continuing, appropriate
encouragment to learn by their teachers and parents will generally
fare better than those who aren;t. For example, students from
families that place little importance on language learning are liely
to progress less quicly.
Acce%% to nati1e %"ea,er%0 !he opportunity to interact with native
speaers both within and outside of the classroom is a significant
advantage. 6ative speaers are linguistic models and can provide
appropriate feedbac. Clearly, second=language learners who have
no extensive access to native speaers are liely to mae slower
progress, particularly in the oral'aural aspects of language
acquisition.
J+ome students learn a new language more quicly and easily than
others.J
E&erci%e 1
Te%ting under%tanding o conce"t% and rea%oning.
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Explain barriers of communication. Identify ways for you to overcome this
andtry to relate this problem to language acquisition. )et additional
information form boos, *ournals or articles found in the internet. .
Congratu/ation%9
Go or a re%t no..
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Kou have been very diligent in going through topic one. Kou will be going through
topic two and so on.
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