Language Skills

Language Learning Principles

If you think back to the introduction (3.1) we said that principles might be thought of as theory derived
from research to which we as teachers need to match classroom practices.

According to H. Douglas Brown (1994.5) Language Learning Principles are generally sorted into 3
subgroups,

Cognitive principles

Affective principles

Linguistic principles

Cognitive principles include:

Subconscious processing of a language automatically

Meaningful learning as a contrast to role learning

Intrinsic motivation. The learner wants to learn.

Affective principles include:

1) Language and culture. Learning about cultural values and thinking can promote stronger motivations.
2) Experimenting with language beyond what is known and understood can increase long term retention.
3) Self-confidence. Successful learning fosters learners belief that they can do it creating what we could term
as a language ego.

Linguistic principles include:

1) Language 1 effect. L1 can be useful and facilitating, but it can also interfere and cloud the learners
understanding.
2) Interlanguage. At least some of the learners development can be seen as systematic (with rule based
components).
3) Communicative competence. Fluency and use are just as important as accuracy and usage. We need to aim
our instruction to cover all the skills.

How should we organize our lessons?

All four language skills need to be combined in the CLIL classroom.

Listening - an activity vital for language learning

Reading - using meaningful material - the major source of input

Speaking - to focuses on fluency - remember accuracy is seen as subordinate

Writing - lexical activities through which grammar is recycled.

The Teaching of the Four Skills

For the purposes of this input I want you to imagine we (as teachers) should be aware of when considering
activities for our students.

Reading
Ways of Reading
Typically, native speaker readers use different reading sub-skills for different needs and situations. This is not
usually done as a conscious process, but as a spontaneous reaction to the type of text we are reading and the
information we require.
When we read in our native tongue, we develop a variety of reading skills depending on the nature of the text
that we are reading. This means we do not read a train timetable in the same way that we read a question in an
examination paper. When we read a train timetable we are only interested in departure and arrival times, so we
scan the text to find an appropriate train for our needs - but we will need to read the exam question in great
detail to make sure we have understood and interpreted it correctly.
Look at the terminology associated with reading sub-skills:
Scan reading (scanning) - is when you read to find a specific piece of information
Skim / gist reading (skimming) - is when you read to get an overall idea of a text
Intensive / detailed reading is when you read to get as much information as you can
Reading to infer - is when we read to understand a writers implicit message in a text
Below are some different types of text. Think about which of the above reading sub-skills you would use to
read these texts.

An academic article you need to read for a composition you have to write.

A telephone directory.

The headline or editorial of a magazine on a topic you care about.

A job advertisement that might be suitable for you or someone you know.

Problem.
When students read in a language that is not their own, they often forget to use the language skills (above) they
would automatically use in their own native tongue, and will read all texts in great detail - word for word.
They are also likely to overuse bilingual dictionaries, pausing every time they find a word they do not
understand.

Writing
Differences between written and spoken English
Spoken and written English differ in many ways. It is not correct to say that written language is just spoken
language written down. Neither can we say that spoken language is really just written language in our heads that we
activate when we want to speak.
Some think that written language is more organized than spoken language, but applied linguists would dispute this
and say that spoken language merely has different organization from written language.
Many people say that written language is more formal than spoken language, but when you think about it, a text
message sent from a mobile phone (written language) is likely to be far less formal than a conversation with your
doctor. (spoken language).

Example: C U @ 2 B 4 class

Question. Which of the following characteristics would you associate with spoken language (S) and which with
written language (W).
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

Includes gesture and facial expression to back up the message.

Uses punctuation to make the content easier to understand.
Includes hesitation devices and fillers such as 'yeah', 'umm', ;ah' etc.
The communicator usually gets immediate feedback from the person they are
communicating with.
Is usually pre-prepared, although e-mail and text messages often are not.
Uses pauses, stress and intonation to show where ideas begin and end.
Is spontaneous and planning usually takes place in the moment of communicating.
Suggests that meaning is static in the communication, although open to interpretation.
The communicator may never find out what the person he is communicating with thinks of
his message.
Includes headlines, different type sizes and colours to enhance the content.
Is usually smooth-flowing.
Involves negotiation of meaning between the communicator and the person they are
communicating with.

Writing also involves other micro-skills such as correct letter formation (orthography), spelling and punctuation.

Listening
Ways of listening
Learners often comment that they find reading texts easier than listening to texts.
Task 33
Make a list of reasons why you think non-native speakers might find listening more challenging than reading.
As is the case with reading, we do not always listen to everything in the same way. How we listen is
determined by what we are listening to, our motivation for listening and where we are listening.
For example, you may be in a cafe and overhear some people at the next table gossiping about a workcolleague of theirs. In this situation, you are likely to tune in and out of the conversation as it is not interesting
for you, or you may ignore it all together. However, if you recognize the name of their colleague and the
gossip sounds particularly interesting, you may decide to listen more carefully.
In terms of:

Scan listening

Skim / gist listening

Intensive listening

Listening to infer meaning

Can you identify three different situations in which you listened this week.
Who

Your motivation

Where

Record each in the boxes below.

How

Speaking
Ways of speaking
Spoken language is generally seen as the most important of all the language skills, but more often than not
learners (who have studied English as a Foreign Language), are still not able to speak English as fluently as
they would like even after years of study. They do not feel comfortable and often complain that their
previous learning was very grammar focused.
Why do you think this is so?
From a CLIL perspective, while grammar is important, our aim is for our students to focus on the message
being sent and on communicating it effectively. Our students need to learn how to activate their passive
grammatical knowledge through meaningful oral practice and at the same time, practice speaking fluently
without worrying too much about the grammar. We can build on that as we go.
Look at the following examples of learner language and decide whether the student has managed to
communicate successfully or not.
1.

Can I have a.. please? (student gesticulates, indicating he is unsure of the word)

2.
3.

You come cinema tonight - no? (said with a rising intonation)

Yesterday good. Tomorrow we see, yes? (student smiles)

4.

A: How long have you been in Gran Canaria?

5.

B: I stay here six weeks.

Could I have please? (student mimes an object of some kind)

Concept checking.
Asking questions is a natural feature of communication, and one of the most important tools you have at your
disposal. Questioning is crucial to the way you manage your class, engage students with content, encourage
participation and increase understanding. However, the quality and value of questions can vary - there is an art
and a science to asking them.
In reality every question demands a response (except in the case of requests and suggestions), so they inevitably
generate communication. However the number of questions you ask needs to be balanced against teacher
talking time and the maximizing of learner contributions.
In a standard language focused lesson following a PPP (present, practice, produce) or ESA (engage, study,
activate) format, the target language (structure or vocabulary) is normally presented in context, then isolated
and analyze. Analysis of the language consists of two sub-stages, often known as highlighting and concept
checking.
Highlighting is taking the model sentence and demonstrating, telling or eliciting what the problems are in terms
of form, function, and phonology.
Concept checking is checking the understanding of difficult aspects of the target structure in terms of function
and meaning. Concept checking is vital, since learners must fully understand the structure before any intensive
practice (the 3rd stage) of form and phonology is carried out.
Ways of checking understanding

Concept checking is normally achieved by the use of a set of questions designed to ensure comprehension of the
target language, raise awareness of its problems, and to indicate to the teacher that the learners have fully
understood.
The question Do you understand?, or the remarks OK? or Right do not achieve any of these aims, and
are unlikely to receive a truthful answer from the learners anyway - as they do not want to look silly in the eyes
of their peer group.
Concept questions are an excellent tool for checking understanding but are often difficult to construct since they
involve the clarification of function and meaning using simple language -but not the target language itself.
Apart from their classroom value, thinking of good questions will also help you to understand the complexities
of form, function and meaning, and to practice grading your language. Some basic tips for good concept
questions are:

Make sure your questions are simple and that no difficult language is required to answer them. . Yes/no
questions, either/or questions and simple 'wh' questions are particularly effective

Do not use the new (target) grammar in your questions

Do not use unfamiliar vocabulary

Bring out basic concepts such as 'time', place and 'tense' in your questions

Use as many questions as possible to check various aspects of the language and to cover as many
learners as possible.

Here are two examples to demonstrate how concept questions can be used to help differentiate between the
main functions of the present simple and present continuous:
Target sentence: Look! Hes building a wall.
Concept questions
Is it happening now?
Can you see it?
Is the wall finished?
Are there 3 men?
Is this in the past, present or future?

Yes
Yes
No
No
Present

Target sentence: She's a librarian. She works in a library.

Concept questions
Has she got a job?
Yes
Is she working now
Don't know
Does she work there every day?
Probably
Does she work in a book shop?
No
Is this the past, present or future? Present, but also past and probably future.

This example shows how concept questions can be used to clarify the meaning of more complex structures in
this case the 2nd conditional:
Target sentence: If I won the lottery, I'd buy a big house.

Checking questions
Have I won the lottery?
Am I going to win the lottery?
Am I going to buy a big house?
Has he got a lottery ticket?
Is this real, or imaginary?

No
Probably not
Probably not
Maybe
Imaginary

Now think about some concept questions you could ask your students in these situations
Target sentence: She neednt have paid for the flowers:
Concept Question

Response

Target sentence: She ought to have paid for the flowers.

Concept Question

Response

Target sentence: They used to live in Telde.

Concept Question

Response

Target sentence: Weve lived in Las Palmas for 10 years

Concept Question

Response

Target sentence: Id like to have gone to the cinema last night.

Concept Question

Response

Pronunciation and the Sounds of English

Pronunciation can be defined as the production of significant sounds in two senses.
First, sound is significant because it is used as part of a code of a particular language.
This unit is called The Sounds of English, but we could talk about the sounds of Finnish, Japanese, German
or other languages.
In this sense we can talk about pronunciation as the production and reception of the sounds of speech.
Sound is also significant because it is used to achieve meaning in the context of use. Here the code combines
with other factors to make communication possible, in this sense we establish links between pronunciation and
communication of the message i.e. the act of speaking.
The teaching of pronunciation is a neglected area in so many TESOL courses. Often it is simply not dealt with at
all with course providers preferring to leave it to a process of osmosis yet most learners attach great
importance to it.
The way we sound when we speak a language that is not our mother tongue has a strong influence on the
assumptions other people make about us.
Students from some language backgrounds think it impossible - for people from their culture to pronounce
English well, and this is often reinforced by prejudices and stereotypes.
For example Swedish and Dutch people are often presented as people who can achieve a good English accent,
while speakers of Romance languages are supposed not to be able to. Such beliefs can adversely affect the
development of some learners.
Another common belief is that after a certain age good pronunciation can no longer be achieved. The problems
of those who to be Incapable of doing so may simply be due to the self-consciousness that comes with
age and not to age itself,
Teachers are often up against strong resistance, prejudice, myth and a belief that all efforts will be hopeless.
This, of course, is not the case but developing good pronunciation skills does require a considerable amount of
hard work and careful thought on the part of the teacher.
Teachers need to know what they are teaching, but learners need not always be aware of what they are learning.
Such an approach will not only avoid arousing immediate resistance, but can also reduce self-consciousness.
A useful teachers' resource book with lots of excellent ideas and innovative exercise suggestions is entitled
PRONUNCIATION, written by Clement Laroy and published by OUP in 1995.

Make sure your learners feel you expect them to succeed, and that the process need not be difficult.

Generally, when we talk about the importance of pronunciation we need to remember that learners
become more adept at producing the sounds of English when they can comprehend better these sounds
correctly.

Students cannot say any English word accurately that they cannot correctly hear and identify.

Remember too that a good practical grasp of the weak forms of English is essential to good
pronunciation and listening comprehension.

Babies start with the potential for learning any language, but gradually we become attuned to our mother
tongue and tend to hear everything under its influence.

Try therefore to contextualize and immerse new sounds in the target language.

When students are entering the class for a lesson try to arrange for background language to be heard.
Record a BBC news broadcast and replay it as the students enter to take their places in class. This can
help create a good atmosphere conducive to language learning an authentic example of the sounds of
English.

It can also help create relaxation which is a very useful tool to help learners leave the rest of the world
behind. Tension should be avoided at all costs when attempting pronunciation exercises.

Avoid correcting too much; at the same time however do not allow mistakes to go unheeded.
Note the mistakes and deal with them in a later lesson using a suitable pronunciation exercise or activity.

Try to introduce a regular pronunciation corner in your classroom 5 to 10 minutes should be

sufficient. Whether the exercises are traditional e.g. minimal pair work, or innovative e.g. a
pronunciation game, regular pronunciation activities will not only result in a great improvement in your
learners pronunciation, but will also have a positive effect on their attitude to language learning.

A brief history.
Peter Roach, in the English Pronouncing Dictionary writes that in 1917 Daniel Jones, Professor of Phonetics at
University College London, described the type of pronunciation recorded at that time as that spoken by men
educated at the great public boarding-schools.
Accordingly, he felt able to refer to his model as "Public School Pronunciation" (PSP). By 1926, however, he
had abandoned the term PSP in favour of "Received Pronunciation" (RP), still widely used.
The type of speech he had in mind had for centuries been regarded as a kind of standard, having its base in the
educated pronunciation of London and the counties surrounding London.
This pronunciation also became known as "Southern British Standard" (SBS). Many phoneticians now feel the
time has come to abandon the name Received Pronunciation.
The model currently used for British English (BE) is often referred to as BBC English; this is the pronunciation
of professional speakers employed by the BBC as newsreaders and announcers on BBC1 and BBC2 television,
BBC News 24, the World Service and BBC Radio 3 and 4, as well as many commercial broadcasting
organizations such as ITN.

Question. How important is pronunciation in the CLIL classroom and how would you go about tackling it?
From a teacher training perspective language comprises three major elements: syntax, phonology (which
includes pronunciation) and lexis.
This unit introduces the sounds of English and provides a brief introduction to the teaching of pronunciation, an
area frequently neglected in the ESOL classroom.
English spelling is quite confusing for foreign learners. Look at the following words - they all end with the
letters '- ough but they are all pronounced very differently: enough, through, thorough, cough.
This means it is important for us to think of the pronunciation of English in terms of phonemes (individual
sounds) rather than letters of the alphabet. To do this we often use special phonemic symbols to represent the
sounds.
Many foreign learners are familiar with these symbols and use them as a tool for learning the pronunciation of
new words.
They are also commonly found in most learners' English-English dictionaries.
Note: Remember that you, as a CLIL (English language) teacher, also need to be familiar with them because
your classroom language will become a model for your learners. They will mimic you (consciously or
subconsciously) and consider that what they say and how they say it is correct. We need to focus on the
spoken word in every lesson and model and correct pronunciation as an ongoing theme.
Look at the following sets of words. They all have the same pronunciation. A jungle for your students!

Note: I am not suggesting for one moment that you teach the phonetic alphabet far from it but we need to
teach the sounds of English to our students to get the correct pronunciation. The above tasks are only to create
an awareness of the problems involved in pronunciation and to highlight your position as a role model.

CONCLUSION
Teacher Language
Depending on the group you teach, your learners will have different levels of language abilities and skills.
It is important to think about your own language use in the classroom.
You are the role model for the language your students are trying to learn- so it is very important to be accurate.
You should grade or modify your language to the class level so that the learners will understand the language
you use to manage the learning environment, especially in the form of instructions.

Managing the learning environment

Learners often have strong views about how they want to learn and how they want you to teach them.
It is important to listen to these views, but remember to balance them with the views of the other learners in the
group and with your own ideas and strategies.

Pair / group work

As language is about communication, you maximize communication in the classroom by including some
activities that learners do in pairs or in small groups.
You also use pair / group work to promote peer teaching, where learners help each other and reinforce their own
learning.
Some learners may be resistant to pair / group work, perhaps because they are used to a more teacher-centred
approach, where all communication is through the teacher.
They may also not want to work with certain individuals in the class or may feel that they wont learn when
they are not talking directly to the teacher.

Learning styles
In general, we process information in three ways, in an auditory way (through hearing it), in a visual way
(through seeing it) or in a kinaesthetic way (through doing something physical with it).
Everyone has a preference for using one of these ways when learning, though we often use more than one. Your
learners will be keener to do activities that correspond to their learning style.
For example, learners who process information in a visual way will be happier working with texts and relating
language to pictures and mental pictures.
They may be less comfortable with a listening exercise.

Mother Tongue
Using Spanish (L1) in your classroom can be a useful tool for teaching and learning and many course books
suggest that learners use translation.
But remember, it can also make the learner dependent on translation and at a loss, for example, when a language

point arises where there is not a one-to-one translation with the first language. (example - the auxiliary verb
do).
As we can see (from a language point of view) the CLIL 'approach' contains nothing new to the EL teacher.
CLIL aims to guide language processing (and support language production) in the same way as ELT by
teaching strategies for reading and listening and structures and lexis for spoken and written language.
What is different is that the language teacher is also the subject teacher, or the subject teacher is also able to
exploit opportunities for developing language skills.
However you choose the interpret Language Learning Principles, the above summaries (and more) should be
considered to be the meat to flesh out the bones of the techniques you choose to use and the choices you make
in the classroom.
They form the bedrock on which we build our lessons and, as with all constructions, we build from the ground
upwards, brick by brick.
This is the essence of a CLIL lesson.