TEFL Methodology: Disusun Oleh: Lusi Nurhayati, M.App - Ling. (TESOL) Nury Supriyanti, M.A. Anita Triastuti, M.A
TEFL Methodology: Disusun Oleh: Lusi Nurhayati, M.App - Ling. (TESOL) Nury Supriyanti, M.A. Anita Triastuti, M.A
TEFL Methodology 
 
Teaching English as Foreign 
Language Methodology 
 
 
 
 
 
Disusun oleh: 
 
Lusi Nurhayati, M.App.Ling. (TESOL) 
Nury Supriyanti, M.A. 
Anita Triastuti, M.A. 
 
 
 
 
 
Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris 
Fakultas Bahasa dan Seni 
Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta 
2008 
 
 
  1 
 
Table of Content 
 
Introduction 2 
Chapter 1  Factors Affecting SLA (Individual differences)   6   
Chapter 2  Characteristics of a good language learner ..20 
Chapter 3   Continuing Teacher Education: Competencies 
Required of EFL Teachers 
Chapter 4  The Development of EFL Methodology .. 
a.  Grammar Translation Methods 
b.  Direct Methods 
c.  Audio lingual methods 
d.  Communicative Language Teaching 
Chapter 5  Communicative Language Ability  
a.  Communicative Language Performance 
b.  Competence v.s Performance 
Chapter 6  Principles of Teaching EFL  
a.  Teaching receptive skills 
b.  Teaching productive skills 
 
Glossary .. 
References . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  2 
Introduction 
 
The Nature of Language 
Conventionally,  linguists  perceive  language  as  a  complex  communication 
system.  It  is  also  widely  believed  that  language  must  be  analyzed  on 
several  levels,  i.e.  phonology,  syntax,  morphology,  semantics  and  lexis, 
pragmatics,  discourse  (Mitchel  and  Myles,  2001:  14).  Lexis  is  individual 
words or set of words (vocabulary items) that have specific meaning, while 
phonology  is  the  study  of  the  sound  features  used  in  a  language  to 
communicate meaning (Sprat et al, 2005). Syntax deals with the structure 
and function  of  phrases  and  sentences  whereas  semantic  is  the  study  of 
meaning.  Pragmatics  investigates  the  relationship  of  sentences  to 
discourse. Teachers understanding about language will determine how or 
how much he/ she would teach the language. 
   
Second/Foreign Language Learning 
Mitchel  and  Myles  (2001:  11)  define  second  language  learning  as    the 
learning  of  any  language  to  any  level,  provided  only  that  learning  of  the 
second  language  takes  place  sometime  later  than  the  acquisition  of  the 
first  language.  Furthermore,  they  define  second  languages  as  any 
languages  other  than  the  learners  native  language  or  mother  tongue.  
Language  acquisition  is  the  process  by  which  language  develops  in 
humans. First language acquisition concerns the development of language 
in  children,  while  second  language  acquisition  focuses  on  language 
development  in  adults.    There  have  been  continuing  debate  on  whether 
nature or nurture as the most important explanatory factor for acquisition.  
 
Context for English Learning 
People  learn  English  in  different  situations.  Some  may  study  English 
formally  and  the  others  may  study  it  informally.  The  learners  may  also 
study it in English speaking countries such as Australia, the USA, Canada 
  3 
or  the  UK.  As  a  result,  learners  may  get  a  great  deal  of  exposure  to  the 
language  since  English  is  used  in  every  aspect  of  the  societys  life: 
education,  daily  conversation,  trading,  business,  law,  politics,  etc.  The 
majority  of  the  English  learners,  nevertheless,  study  this  in  non-English 
speaking  countries.  In  countries  like  Malaysia,  India,  Mexico,  Singapore 
and so on, people use English as  a second language.  Some schools (or 
particular  levels  in  some  schools)  use  English  as  the  language  of 
instruction.  In  some  countries,  such  as  Nigeria,  people  of  different  ethnic 
groups may use English to communicate with each other. 
 
In some countries like Indonesia, Vietnam and China, English is regarded 
as  a  foreign  language;  therefore,  it  is  common  to  consider  the  context  of 
English learning in these places as EFL (English as a Foreign Language) 
context.      People  do  not  use  it  as  lingua  franca  or  the  means  of 
communication  in  several  formal  situations  such  as  educational  activity, 
governmental  activity  and  law.  In  the  study  of  English  learning,  ESL  and 
EFL are regarded as similar in contexts, since, to some extent, they share 
similar  situation.  In  Indonesia  English  has  become  one  of  compulsory 
subjects taught in Junior and Senior High Schools in Indonesia. English is 
considered as one important foreign language that should be acquired by 
Indonesians  for  many  reasons,  such  as  for  education  and  economic 
development.  However,  despite  having  learnt  English  for  about  6  years, 
most of Indonesian students are still unsatisfactory in their English skills. 
 
Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) 
The Instruction of English as a foreign language may occur in any country, 
whether  English  speaking  or  not.  Learners  of  EFL  study  English  for 
different  purposes:  passing  the  examination,  career  development, 
pursuing  their  education,  etc.  In  most  countries,  English  as  a  Foreign 
Language  is  part  of  the  educational  curriculum,  particularly  in  state 
schools. In Indonesia, English is a compulsory subject in senior and junior 
  4 
high  schools.  In  the  lower  levels,  such  as  in  elementary  schools  and  in 
kindergarten, English  is  not a  compulsory  subject;  it  can  be  taught  to  the 
students as the local content subject (muatan lokal).  
 
Teaching and learning has a very close relationship and one into another 
cannot  be  defined  apart.  Brown  (1987:  p.6)  identifies  the  components  of 
definition of learning as follow: 
1.  learning is acquisition or getting 
2.  learning is retention of information or skill 
3.  retention implies storage systems, memory, cognitive organization 
4.  learning involves active, conscious focus on and acting upon even 
outside or inside the organism 
5.  learning is relatively permanent, but subject to forgetting 
6.  learning  involves  some  forms  of  practice,  perhaps  reinforced 
practice 
7.   learning is part of changes in behavior. 
 
Furthermore, Brown defines teaching as guiding and facilitating learning, 
enabling learner to learn, and setting the condition for learning.  
 
Competence and Performance 
One  of  the  famous  issues  in  second  language  learning  is  Chomskys 
concept  of  competence  and  performance  (1966).  Competence  refers  to 
the abstract and unseen representation of language knowledge inside our 
mind, with its probability to make and comprehend original utterances in a 
given  language.  On  the  other  hand,  performance  deals  with  the  data  of 
real  utterances  which  people  have  produced  (Mitchel  and  Myles,  2001: 
15).  Hence,  competence  is  truly  unobservable,  while  performance  is 
observable.  Possibly,  students  knowledge  of  English  is  far  greater  than 
their ability to perform their language knowledge. In many cases, students 
do  very  well  in  writing  but  do  not  perform  satisfactorily  in  speaking.  Or, 
  5 
some  students  can  perform  very  well  in  English  class,  but  they  lost  their 
words when they have to talk to native speakers of English.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  6 
Chapter 1 
Factors Affecting Foreign Language Learning: 
Individual Differences 
 
Objectives: 
At the end of this chapter, you should be able to: 
1.  identify factors affecting English as Foreign Language learning. 
2.  explain the effect of individual differences to SLA. 
3.  discuss some research findings of individual differences that influence ELT. 
 
The idea that individual differences of second language (L2) learners may 
influence  their  second  language  acquisition  is  generally  accepted.  In 
actual  life,  particularly  in  formal  learning  setting,  learners  may  show 
different levels of proficiency even though they get similar treatment from 
their  teacher.  Factors which  may  influence  Second  Language  Acquisition 
(SLA)  are  age,  motivation,  and  intelligence,  and  also  learning  style, 
personality,  learner  belief, attitude and aptitude. The fact that  some  adult 
learners  are  more  successful  at  acquiring  English  as  L2  than  others  has 
led  to  investigations  of  individual  characteristics  as  predictors  of 
successful L2 acquisition. 
 
A.  Age 
People  want  to  know  precisely  when  second  language  education  should 
be started particularly in formal school context. This is one reason of why 
age becomes one important topic in the study of SLA.  Some researchers, 
for  example  Altman,  Larsen-Freeman  and  Long,  show  that  one  factor  
contributing  to  the  individual  differences  that  should  be  considered  in  L2 
learning is age. There have been lines of research in the area of age that 
lead  to  significant  implication  to  the  educational  policy  and  programs. 
Mostly,  the  age  studies  focus  on  four  topics,  i.e.,  critical  period  for 
  7 
language learning (CPH or Critical Period Hypothesis), ultimate attainment 
and rate of acquisition. 
1.  CPH 
 It  can  be  argued  that  CPH  significantly  supports  the  common  belief 
saying  that  children  are  better  L2  learner  than  adults.  Several  studies 
examining  CPH  led  to  open  ended  topics  of  discussion.  Below  are 
some experts arguments about CPH. 
o  Lenneberg  (1967):  normal  language  development  might  process 
within  a  limited  age  range  period  prior  to  puberty  with  the 
establishment  of  cerebral  lateralization  of  function  (  Snow  and 
Hoefnagel-Hohle, 1978:114) 
o  Mclaughlin  (1992):  it  was  a  myth  that  adults,  as  the  late  learners 
are unable to attain better proficiency. 
o  Marinova-Todd,  Marshal  and  Snow  (2000):  the  existence  of  CPH 
was  still  debatable  and  there  has  been  biased  in  some  research 
supporting it. 
 
The focus of CPH studies recently is comparing the native speakers to 
the learners of L2 (native-like, near native or slight native).It is believed 
that  phonology,  including  pronunciation,  is  the  area  that  adults  find 
most  difficult  to  acquire.  Thomson  (1991)  implied  that  starting  L2 
learning early would not directly make learners acquire native-speaker 
proficiencies  straight  away  eventhough  they  had  the  best  learning 
circumstance. 
 
2.  Ultimate attainment 
Ultimate attainment has occasionally and erroneously been used as a 
synonym  for  native-  like  proficiency;  however,  it  accurately  describes 
the  final  state  of  the  SLA  (Birdsong,  2000:11).Some  studies  in 
naturalistic  context  generally  prove  that  early  starters  outperform  the 
late  starters,  e.g.  Oyama  (1976),  Patkowski  (1980).  Some  studies  in 
  8 
classroom contexts revealed that the late beginners are better than the 
early  beginners,  e.g.  Burstall  (1975)  (esp.  in  reading,  writing  and 
speaking), Oller and Nagato (1974). 
 
3.  Rate of Acquisition 
There are some short-term studies ranging from a few minutes to few 
months  that  focus  on  the  rate  of  acquisition;  for  example  Asher  and 
Price (1967), Olsen and Samuels (1973). Krashen  et al. conclude that 
adults  are  superior  to  children  in  the  rate  of  acquisition  and  older 
children  learn  more  rapidly  than  younger  children  (Ellis,  1994:  485). 
Support  for  them  comes  from  Larsen-Freeman  and  Long  (1991,  155) 
who  stated  that  older  learners  were  faster  than  children,  and  older 
children  were  faster  than  younger  children.  Furthermore,  they  added 
that the rate benefit is limited to certain aspects i.e., early morphology 
and  syntax.  Moreover,  those  aspects  also  occur  just  in  short  term  as 
those disappear after a few months. 
 
Studies  of  the  effect  of  age  on  the  rate  of  L2  acquisition  in  general 
show  that  to  some  extent  adults  perform  better  than  children  in  a 
formal  instructional  context.  This  situation  may  bring  significant 
information  to  the  L2  education.  Children,  teenagers  and  adults  learn 
differently.  Therefore,  it  is  important  for  the  teacher  to  consider  the 
influence  of  age  and  maturity  to  the  English  classroom.  The  following 
are the characteristics of 3 groups of learners based on age/maturity: 
 
Children  Teenagers  Adults 
Need to move  Start  to keep still for longer 
periods but still need to 
move 
Able to keep still for longer 
periods 
Can concentrate for shorter  Concentration developing  Can concentrate for longer 
  9 
periods  periods 
Learn through experience  Begin  to learn in abstract 
ways, i.e. through thinking 
as well as experiencing 
Learn in more abstract 
ways 
Have low ability to control 
and plan their own 
behavior 
Begin  to control and plan 
their own behavior 
Usually able to control and 
plan their own behaviour 
Are not afraid of making 
mistakes or taking risks 
May worry about what 
others think of them 
Not so willing to make 
mistakes or take risks  
Are not aware of 
themselves and/or their 
actions 
Sometimes uncomfortably 
aware of themselves 
and/or their actions 
Aware of themselves 
and/or their actions 
Pay attention to meaning in 
language 
Pay attention to meaning 
and increasingly to form 
Pay attention to form and 
meaning in language 
Have limited experience of 
life 
Begin to increase their 
experience of life 
Have experience o life 
Sprat et.al. (2005: 53) 
 
B.  Intelligence 
Traditionally,  intelligence  is  the  term  that  refers  to  performance  on 
certain kinds of tests (Lightbow and  Spada, 2001: 31). Moreover they 
states that these tests are often allied with success in school. For long 
time  people  use  IQ  test  as  a  means  to  predict  how  successful  a 
language  learners  will  be.  Considering  this, Lighbow  and  Spada  (ibid) 
believe  that  intelligence  is  complex    and  that  individuals  have  many 
kind  of  abilities  and  strengths,  not  all  of  which  are  measured  by 
traditional IQ test. 
 
Howard Gardner developed a set of criteria that he used to determine 
what  constitutes  an  intelligence  (Boggeman,  1996).  He  used  these 
  10 
criteria to identify some intelligence. Initially there are 7 criteria until at 
last he include naturalist. This theory is called Multiple Intelligence. 
 
Figure 1. Gardners Multiple Intelligence Theory: 
a.  Linguistics 
 
Sensitivity to the meaning and order of words 
b.  Logical-Mathematical 
 
The ability to handle chains of reasoning and to recognize 
pattern and order. 
c.  Musical 
 
Sensitivity to pitch, melody and rhythm. 
d.  Bodily-Kinesthetic 
 
The ability to use the body skillfully and handle objects 
adroitly. 
e.  Visual/Spatial 
 
The ability to perceive the world accurately and to re-create 
or transform aspects of that world. 
f.  Interpersonal 
 
The ability to understand people and relationship 
g.  Intrapersonal 
 
Access to ones emotional life as a means to understand 
oneself and others. 
h.  Naturalist 
 
The ability to recognize flora and fauna, to make other 
consequential distinctions in the natural world and to use this 
ability productively ( in hunting,  farming, biological science). 
 
(Boggeman, 1996: xxii-xxiii) 
 
Recently Existential Intelligence -- sensitivity and capacity to tackle deep 
questions  about  human  existence,  such  as  the  meaning  of  life,  why  we 
die, and how we get here are also counted as part of the MI. 
Persons who are linguistically intelligent  able to use words effectively both 
orally  and  in  writing.  They  are  able  to  use  language  effectively  using 
  11 
various  ways,  such  as  to  convince  others  to  do  something,  to  memorize 
information, and to talk about language itself (Christisson, 1996).  Gardner 
proposes  that  everyone  has  the  capacity  to  develop  all  intelligences  to  a 
reasonably  high  level.  This  information  is  encouraging  for  language 
teachers.  It  may  mean  that  teachers  can  help  the  second  language 
learners to develop their intelligences--including linguistic intelligence. It is 
widely believed that the combination of the right environmental influences 
and  quality  instruction  takes  a  significant  role  in  the  language  learning 
success; and teachers may take part on both of these. 
C.  Motivation 
It is widely agreed that motivation is a key factor in second language (L2) 
or foreign language (FL) leaning success. People may start learning L2 or 
FL because of various reasons that may come intrinsically or extrinsically. 
Many people nowadays enjoy learning L2/FL and try hard to get high level 
proficiency. Some others learn these  not because they want it but merely 
because  they  should  do  it  that  way,  for  example  some  students  in 
ESL/EFL  context  learn  L2/FL  because  the  educational  policies  in  their 
countries  ask  them  to  do  so.  It  seems  that  for  some  people,  learning 
second  or  foreign  languages,  to  some  extent,  may  be  just  a  matter  of 
choice  rather  than  a  necessity,  but  for  some  others  it  becomes  an 
essential  action,  as  there  are  a  lot  of  benefits  that  go  with  that.  As  the 
response of people toward language learning is  varied, it is interesting to 
find out the reasons behind that, which then bring to the discussion about 
motivation.  
 
Motivation,  in  broad-spectrum,  refers  to  the  effort  in  which  learners  put 
learning into practice as a result of their need or desire to do it. Ellis (1994: 
237) stated that motivation, which was viewed as independent of language 
aptitude,  had  a  major  impact  on  learning  in  informal  as  well  as  formal 
learning  contexts.  William  and  Burden  (1997:  111)  stated  that  learning 
  12 
was  possible  to  occur  when  people  want  to  do  it.  The  term  want  may 
indicate that there is an active  process within someone that drive him/her 
to act something.   Dornyei  (2005:66) explained that motivation concerns 
with the primary question of why people think and behave as they do.  It 
is  assumed  that  the  use  of  the  word  and  indicates  that  thinking  and 
behaving are the continuing process that cannot be separated.  
 
Numbers  of  hypothesis  rise  in  the  literature  regarding  motivation,  and 
many  times,  these  hypotheses  have  been  offered  based  on  results 
obtained in research in very different contexts and different measurements 
(Masgoret  and  Gardner,  2003).  Various  scholars,  such  as  Gardner  and 
Lambert  (1972),  Ryan  and  Deci  (2000),  Noels  et  all.  (2000),  and  Dornyei 
(2005)  have  offered  frameworks  in  viewing  motivation.    Gardner  and 
Lambert  (1972)  viewed  second  languages  as  mediating  factors  between 
different  ethnolinguistic  communities  and  thus  regarded  the  motivation  to 
learn  languages  of  the  community  as  a  primary  force  responsible  for 
enhancing  or  hindering  intercultural  communication  and  affiliation 
(Dornyei,  2005:  67).  Gardner  and  Lambert  (1972)  distinguished 
instrumental  motivation,  as  one  that  arises  because  of  the  existence  of 
the  functional  goals,  such  as  job,  and  integrative  motivation  as  one  that 
occurs  when  the  individual  is  expected  to  identify  with  the  second  or 
foreign  language  groups  cultures  (as  cited  in  Ellis,  1994,  p.  715). 
However, according to Dornyei (2005), their claim indicated that a foreign 
language is not a socioculturally neutral field but is affected by a range of 
socio-cultural factors such as language attitudes, cultural stereotypes and 
even geopolitical considerations. 
 
Ryan  and  Decis  (1985,  2000)  self-determination  theory,  divides 
motivation  into  two  general  types:  intrinsic  and  extrinsic.  This  theory  has 
become  the  most  influencing  approach  (Dornyei,  2005).  The  self-
determination theory determined that intrinsic motivation (IM) is based on 
  13 
the intrinsic interest in activity, while extrinsic motivation (EM) is based on 
rewards  extrinsic  to  activity  itself  (Ryan  and  Deci,  2000).  According  to 
Noels  et.  all  (2003:  34-34),  intrinsic  motivation  (IM)  is  motivation  to 
engage in activity because that activity is enjoyable and satisfying to do, 
while  EM  is  actions  carried  out  to  achieve  some  instrumental  end,  such 
as  earning  a  reward  or  avoiding  a  punishment.  Vallerand  and  his 
colleagues  as  cited  in  Noels  et  al.  (2003)  offered  three-part  taxonomy  of 
intrinsic motivation: IM-knowledge, IM-accomplishment and IM-stimulation. 
They  explained  that  IM-knowledge  referred  to  the  motivation  to  do  an 
action for the feeling associated with exploring new ideas and developing 
knowledge  while  IM-Accomplishment  refers  to  the  sensations  related  to 
attempting  to  master  a  task  or  achieve  a  goal,  whereas  IM-Stimulation, 
relates  to  motivation  based  simply  on  the  sensations  stimulated  by 
performing the task, like aesthetic appreciation or fun and excitement. 
 
Ryan  and  Deci  (2000)  put  the  external,  introjected,  identified  and 
integrated  regulations,  as  parts  of  EM.  However,  in  relation  to  education, 
there are three types of EM which is based on to extent to which the self 
motivation  is  self-determined  (Vallerand  ,  1997;  Valerand  et  all.,  1992, 
1993 as cited in Noels et al., 2003). The first is called external regulation, 
i.e., those activities that are determined by sources external to the person, 
such as tangible benefits or costs. The next is introjected regulation which 
refers to reasons that pertain to performing an activity due to some type of 
pressure  that  individuals  have  incorporated  into  the  self,  such  that  they 
compel  themselves  to  carry  out  that  activity,  moreover,  eventhough  the 
cause of the pressure is internal, it is not self determined as the individuals 
were  responding  to  a  pressure,  not  acting  on  the  basis  of  personal 
choice. The third is identified regulation, in which persons invest energy in 
an activity as they have chosen to do so for personally  relevant reasons. 
Integrated  regulation  occurs  when  identified  regulations  are  fully 
assimilated to the self (Ryan and Deci, 2000: 73) 
  14 
 
D.  Self Esteem 
Self esteem is a personal judgment of worthiness that is expressed in the 
attitudes that the individual holds towards himself (Coopersmith in Brown, 
1987: 101-102). It refers to the degree to which individuals feel confident 
and  believe  themselves  to  be  significant  people.  It  is  manifested  at 
different  levels  (global,  situational  and  task)  (Ellis,  1994:  518).Brown 
(1987: 102) argues that global self esteem is relatively stable in a mature 
adult,  and  is  resistant  to  change  except  by  active  and  extended  therapy. 
Situational/  specific  self  esteem  refers  to  ones  appraisals  of  oneself  in 
certain  life  situation,  such  as  social  interaction,  work,  education, home or 
on  certain  relatively  discretely  defined  traits-intelligence,  communicative 
ability,  athletic  ability,  or  personality  traits  like  gregariousness,  empathy 
and flexibility. Task of self esteem relates to particular tasks within specific 
situation.  Heyde  (1979)  found  that  self  esteem  correlated  positively  with 
oral  production;  But,  Gardner  and  Lambert  (1972)  failed  to  find  their 
significant relationship. 
 
E.  Inhibition 
Inhibition refers to the extent to which individuals build defenses to protect 
their egos. People vary in how adaptive their language egos are, i.e. how 
well  they  are  to  deal  with  the  identity  conflict  involved  in  L2  learning. 
Guiora  et  al.  (1972  and  1980)  in  Brown  (1987)  used  alcohol  and  valium 
administered  in  differing  quantities  to  reduce  inhibition  as  measuring 
instrument.  His  study  showed  that  subjects  given  alcohol  showed  better 
pronunciation while valium had no effect. 
 
F.  Risk Taking 
Ehrman  and  Oxford  (1995)  specifically  linked  it  to  risk  taking  because 
those who can tolerate ambiguity are more likely to take risks in language 
  15 
learning, an essential factor for making progress in the language (Beebee, 
1983; Brown, 1987; Ely, 1986; Stevick, 1976). 
 
There are five levels of risk-taking behavior: 
1.  the uninhibited risk-taker  
2.  the analytical risk-taker 
3.  the cautious risk-taker 
4.  the inhibited risk-taker 
5.  the non risk-taker 
 
G.  Learning Style 
Learning  style  is  used  to  describe  an  individual  natural,  habitual,  and 
preferred way of absorbing, processing and retaining new information and 
skills  (Reid,  1995  in  Lighbow  and  Spada,  1996).  Some  learners  may  be 
categorized as aural, visual or, kinesthetic. Considerable research that 
focus on cognitive learning style categorize learners into field independent 
and  field  independent  learners.  If  you  are  field  independent,  you  will 
concentrate  on  the  compulsory  and  relevant  details  and  you  will  not  be 
distracted by surrounding but irrelevant details (Brown, 1997: 84). People 
whose  field  independent  are  dominant  are  usually  more  independent, 
competitive, and self confident. Field-dependent persons tend to be more 
socialized, tend to derive their self identity from people around them, and 
usually more emphatic and perceptive of  feelings and thoughts of others. 
(Brown, 1997: 86).  
 
Richard  M.  Felder  and  Barbara  A.  Soloman  give  suggestions  how  the 
following four types of learners can help themselves: 
1. Active and Reflective Learners - will retain information better when they 
use it. 
2. Sensing and Intuitive Learners - need to see how information connects 
to the real world 
  16 
3.  Visual  and  Verbal  Learners  -  need  summaries  or  outlines  in  their  own 
words.  
4.  Sequential  and  Global  Learners  -  need  to  get  the  big  picture  and 
understand  how  information  connects  to  other  topics  before  they  can 
master the details. 
 
Kolb's Learning Styles (Source: 537 Course Contents on Kolb and Hartman, 1995) 
1.  Accommodators  (Concrete  experience/Active  experimenter)  are  motivated  by  the 
question, "what would happen if I did this?" They consider what they can do, as well as 
what others have done previously. They are able to see relationships among aspects of a 
system.  Encouraging  independent  discovery,  accommodators  like  to  be  active 
participants in their learning and to offer laboratories, field work, observations or trigger 
films. 
2.  Assimilators  (Abstract  conceptualization/Reflective  observer)  are  motivated  to 
answer the question, "what is there to know?" They like accurate, organized delivery of 
information  and  respect  the  knowledge  of  the  expert.  They  are  not  comfortable 
randomly exploring a system. They like to get the 'right' answer to the problem, use the 
lecture  method,  video  or  audio  presentation,  followed  by  a  demonstration,  explore  a 
subject in a lab followed by a tutorial, and use logs, journals, or brainstorming. 
3.  Convergers  (abstract  conceptualization/active  experimenter)  are  motivated  to 
discover  the  relevancy  or  the  "how"  of  a  situation.  Application  and  usefulness  of 
information  is  increased  by  understanding  detailed  information  about  a  system's 
operation.  By  means  of  lectures,  papers,  analogies,  simulations,  case  studies,  and 
homework,  students  prefer  interactive  instruction,  computer  assisted  instruction,  and 
problem sets or workbooks. 
4.  Divergers  (concrete/reflexive  learners)  are  motivated  to  discover  the  relevancy  or 
"why" of a situation. They  reason from concrete specific information and like to explore 
  17 
what  a  system  has  to  offer.  They  prefer  to  have  information  presented  in  a  detailed, 
systematic,  reasoned  manner,  and  enjoy  using  the  lecture  method  that  focuses  on 
specifics for example the strengths, weaknesses and uses of a system, and use hands-on 
exploration  of  a  system.  Teachers  should  answer  questions,  make  suggestions,  and 
provide reference guides to the students.  
http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/~dsulliva/EP/learning_styles.htm 
 
Other research categorizes learning style based on the individuals 
personality/temperament: extroversion-introversion, sensing  intuition, 
thinking-feeling, judging-perceiving. 
 
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator 
1. ExtroversionIntroversion (Attitudes) 
Whether to direct perception and judgment mainly on the outer world (E) or mainly on 
the world of ideas (I); a persons basic orientation, attitude toward life. Extroverts tend 
to focus their perception and judgment on people and objects. Introverts tend to focus 
their perception and judgment on concepts and ideas. 
 
2. Sensing PerceptionIntuitive Perception (Process of Perception) 
Which  kinds  of  perception  are  preferred  when  one  needs  or  wishes  to  perceive;  one 
may  rely  primarily  on  the  process  of  sensing  (S),  which  reports  observable  facts  or 
happenings  through  one  or  more  of  the  five  senses;  or  one  may  rely  more  on  the  less 
obvious  process  of  intuition  (N),  which  reports  meanings,  relationships  and/  or 
possibilities that have been worked out beyond the reach of the conscious mind. 
 
3. Thinking JudgmentFeeling Judgment (Process of Judgment) 
Which kind of judgment to trust when one needs or wishes to make a decision; a person 
may  rely  primarily  on  thinking  (T)  to  decide  impersonally  on  the  basis  of  logical 
  18 
consequences,  or  a  person  may  rely  primarily  on  feeling  (F)  to  decide  primarily  on  the 
basis of personal or social values. 
 
4. JudgingPerceiving (Style of Dealing with the Outside World) 
Whether  to  deal  with  the  outer  world  in  the  judging  (J)  attitude  (using  Thinking 
judgment  or  Feeling  judgment),  or  in  the  perceptive  (P)  attitude  (using  Sensing 
perception  or  Intuitive  perception).  A  person  who  prefers  judgment  (J)  has  reported  a 
preference  for  using  a  judgment  process  (either  T  or  F)  for  dealing  with  the  outside 
world.  A  person  who  prefers  perception  (P)  has  reported  a  preference  for  using  a 
perceptive process (either S or N) for dealing with the outside world. 
 
Note. Taken from Myers-Briggs and McCaulley (1985, p. 2). 
 
H.  Tolerance of Ambiguity 
Frenkel-Brunswick (1949: 115) states that intolerance for ambiguity was "a 
tendency  to  resort  to  black-and-white  solutions,  to  arrive  at  premature 
closure,    often  at  the  neglect  of  reality."  Budner  (1962)  believed  that 
intolerance  for  ambiguous  situation  is  usually  perceived  as  sources  of 
threats.  Jonassen  and  Grabowski  (1993)  think  that  tolerant  individuals 
should perform well in new and complex learning situations. On the other 
hand,  intolerant  learners  have  a  tendency  to  avoid  or  give  up  when 
encountering ambiguous situations. 
 
In  his  summary  of  research  by  Naiman  et  al.  (1975)  and  Chapelle  and 
Roberts  (1986),  Ellis  described  tolerance  of  ambiguity  as  a  dimension  of 
second language learning which entails an ability to deal with ambiguous 
new  stimuli  without  frustration  and  without  appeals  to  authority  [e.g.,  the 
first language]. It allows for indeterminate rather than rigid categorization 
(p. 518). 
 
  19 
Ehrman  (1993,  p.  337)  further  hypothesized  that  feeling  students  may 
tolerate certain kinds of ambiguity, e.g., about grammatical structure, more 
than their thinking classmates. 
 
Reflection Task 
1.  Some experts believe that CPH for language learning exist. Others, 
however, do not believe in the existence of CPH. What about you? 
Justify your answer. 
2.  What is the effect of individual differences to the EFL teaching and 
learning? 
3.  Is motivation vital to language learning? Why? 
4.  Which  students  do  you  think  will  be  more  successful  in  English  as 
foreign language learning? Why? 
a.  An Indonesian teenager studies English in a college in Australia. At 
home his father and mother speak Indonesian. Some of his friends 
speak to him using Indonesian, some others speak in English.  
b.  An Indonesian student studies English in an international language 
course  in  Jakarta.  All  of  her  teachers  are  native  speakers  of 
English. 
 
EXTENDED TASK: 
Anxiety and Empathy are also regarded as factors that may influence the 
English teaching and learning process. What is Anxiety? What is Empathy?  
In what way do these two aspects influence students learning? 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  20 
Chapter 2 
Characteristics of Good Language Learners 
 
Objectives: 
At the end of this chapter you should be able to: 
1.  identify characteristics of good language learners. 
2.  identify your own characteristics 
 
Based  on  their  observation,  Rubin  (1975)  and  Stern  (1975)  in  Brown 
(1987) propose characteristics of good language learners as follow: 
 Rubins lists: 
1.  willing and accurate guesser 
2.  strong drive to communicate 
3.  uninhabited 
4.  attends t forms 
5.  practices  seeks out conversation. 
6.  monitors own speech and the speech of others 
7.  attends to meaning 
 
Sterns lists: 
1.  a personal learning style or positive learning strategy 
2.  an active approach to the learning task 
3.  a  tolerant  and  outgoing  approach  to  the  target  language  and 
empathy with its speaker 
4.  technical know-how about how to tackle a language 
5.  strategies  of  experimentation  and  planning  with  the  object  of 
developing  the  new  language  into  an  ordered  system  and  of 
revising the system progressively 
6.  constantly searching for meaning 
7.  willingness to practice 
8.  willingness to use the language in real communication 
  21 
9.  self monitoring and critical sensitivity to language use 
10. developing  the  target  language  more  and  more  as  a  separate 
reference system and learning to think in it. 
 
Brown  (1987:  93-94)    writes  that  metacognitive  refers  to  a  term  used  in 
information-process  theory  to  indicate  an  executive  function,  strategies 
that involve planning for learning, thinking about the learning process as it 
is  taking  place,  monitoring  of  ones  production  or  comprehension  and 
evaluating learning after an activity is completed. 
 
Reflection Task 
1.  Do you think you are a good language learner? Why? 
2.  What is the strength and weakness of being a risk taker? 
3.  What are you strength and weaknesses as a language learner? 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  22 
 
Chapter 3 
Continuing Teacher Education: 
Competencies Required by EFL Teachers 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The most challenging task of being teachers is the fact that teachers never 
stop learning. The complexity of managing a teaching-learning process demands 
teachers  to  always  answer  a  number  of  questions,  and  solve  some  problems. 
Every  time  teachers  walk  into  their  classroom,  they  face  some  of  those  issues, 
such as how well a method and a technique work, how classroom interaction can 
be  improved,  how  to  assess  students  learning  progress,  how  to  improve 
students active participation, or how their teaching style affects students.  
If  you  are  a  growing  teacher,  undoubtedly  you  will  undergo  all  these 
complexities in your teaching profession. That is why it is important to acquire all 
knowledge and teaching skills required to meet these challenges. Brown (2001) 
adapted  from  Pennington  (1990:150)  outlines  some  major  goals  that  a  teacher 
has to pursue: 
1.  A  knowledge  of  the  theoretical  foundations  of  language  learning  and 
language teaching, 
2.  The  analytical  skills  necessary  for  assessing  different  teaching 
contexts and classroom conditions, 
3.  An awareness of alternative teaching techniques and the ability to put 
these into practice, 
4.  The confidence and skill to alter your teaching techniques as needed, 
5.  Practical experience with different teaching techniques 
6.  Informed knowledge of yourself and your students, 
Objectives: 
 
At the end of this chapter you should be able to: 
1.  Identify competencies required by EFL teachers 
2.  Identify characteristics of a good EFL teacher 
 
  23 
7.  Interpersonal communication skills, and 
8.  Attitudes of flexibility and openness to change 
 
Brown, further, cites the down-to-earth list of characteristics of good ESL 
teachers proposed by Harold B. Allen (1980): 
1.  Competent preparation leading to a degree in TESL 
2.  A love of the English language 
3.  Critical thinking  
4.  The persistent urge to upgrade oneself 
5.  Self-subordination 
6.  Readiness to go the extra mile 
7.  Cultural adaptability 
8.  Professional citizenship 
9.  A feeling of excitement about ones work 
 
Finally, the following are  the characteristics of a good language teacher 
outlined by Brown: 
  Technical Knowledge 
1.  Understand the linguistic systems of English phonology, grammar, and 
discourse 
2.  Comprehensively  grasps  basic  principles  of  language  learning  and 
teaching 
3.  Has  fluent  competence  in  speaking,  writing,  listening  to,  and  reading 
English 
4.  Knows through experience what it is like to learn a foreign language 
5.  Understands the close connection between language and culture 
6.  Keeps  up  with  the  field  through  regular  reading  and 
conference/workshop attendance 
 
 
 
  24 
  Pedagogical Skills 
 
1.  Has a well-thought-out, informed approach to language teaching 
2.  Understands and uses a wide variety of techniques 
3.  Efficiently designs and executes lesson plans 
4.  Monitor lessons as they unfold and makes effective mid-lesson alterations 
5.  Effectively perceives students linguistic needs 
6.  Gives optimal feedback to students 
7.  Stimulates interaction, cooperation, and teamwork in the classroom 
8.  Uses appropriate principles of classroom management 
9.  Uses effective, clear presentation skills 
10. Creatively  adapts  textbook  material  and  other  audio,  visual,  and 
mechanical aids 
11. Innovatively creates brand-new materials when needed 
12. Uses  interactive,  intrinsically  motivating  techniques  to  create  effective 
tests and lessons 
 
  Interpersonal Skills 
 
1.  Is  aware  of  cross-cultural  differences  and  is  sensitive  to  students  cultural 
traditions 
2.  Enjoys people, shows enthusiasm, warmth, rapport, and appropriate humor 
3.  Values the opinions and abilities of students 
4.  Is patient in working with students of lesser ability 
5.  Offers challenges to students of exceptionally high ability 
6.  Cooperates harmoniously and candidly with colleagues (fellow teachers) 
7.  Seeks  opportunities  to  share  thoughts,  ideas,  and  techniques  with 
colleagues 
 
 
 
  25 
  Personal Qualities 
 
1.  Is well organized, conscientious in meeting commitments, and dependable 
2.  Is flexible when things go awry 
3.  Maintains an inquisitive mind in trying out new ways of teaching 
4.  Sets short-term and long-term goals for continued professional growth 
5.  Maintains and exemplifies high ethical and moral standards 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  26 
Chapter 4 
The Development of TEFL Methodology 
 
 
 
 
 
1. The Grammar Translation Methods 
The  Grammar  translation  method  is  also  called  a  classical  method.  This 
method came out when the western people world wanted to learn "foreign" 
languages  such  as  Latin  and  Greek.   The  focus  of  GTM  was  on 
grammatical  rules,  the  memorization  of  vocabulary  and  of  various 
declensions  and  conjugations,  translations  of  texts,  and  doing  written 
exercises.  
According  to  Brown  (2001),  class  which  applies  the  Grammar  translation 
Method would possibly be like this:  
1. Classes are taught in the mother tongue, with little active use of the 
target language.  
2. Much vocabulary is taught in the form of lists of isolated words.  
3. Long elaborate explanations of the intricacies of grammar are given.  
4. Grammar provides the rule for putting words together, and instruction 
often focuses on the form and inflection of words.  
5. Reading of difficult classical texts is begun early.  
6. Little attention is paid to the content of texts, which are treated as 
exercises in grammatical analysis.    
 
Objectives: 
 
At the end of this chapter you should be able to: 
1.  Understand    various  different    methods  of  teaching  English  by 
identifying the characteristics of each method 
2.  Analyze the application of those methods as outlined in the provided 
analytical questions 
  27 
2. The Direct Method 
The  basic  principle  of  the  Direct  Method  was  that  second  language 
learning  should  be  more  like  first  language  learning.   The  method  would 
comprise a great deal of oral interaction, spontaneous use of language, no 
translation between first and second languages, and little or no analysis of 
grammar rules.  
Here are the principles of the direct method based on Browns arguments:  
1. Classroom instruction was conducted exclusively in the target 
language.  
2. Only everyday vocabulary and sentences were taught.  
3. Oral communication skills were built up in a carefully traded progression 
organized around  questions-and-answer exchanges between teachers 
and students in small intensive classes.  
4. Grammar was taught inductively.  
5. New teaching points were taught through modeling and practice.  
6. Concrete vocabulary was taught through demonstration, objects, 
pictures;  abstract vocabulary was taught through association of ideas.  
7. Both speech and listening comprehension were taught.  
8. Correct pronunciation and grammar were emphasized.  
3.  Audio Lingual Methods 
The audio-lingual method (ALM) was widely used in the United States and 
other  countries  in  the  1950's  and  1960's.  Some  programs  still  use  it 
nowadays. The structural view of language is the view behind this method. 
The  emphasis  was  on  mastering  the  building  blocks  of  language  and 
learning the rules for combining them. 
 
  28 
ALM is greatly influenced by Behaviorism. The basic principles of this are: 
1. language learning is habit-formation,  
2. mistakes are bad and should be avoided, as they make bad habits.  
3. language skills are learned more effectively if they are presented orally 
first, then in written form 
4. analogy is a better foundation for language learning than analysis  
5.  the  meanings  of  words  can  be  learned  only  in  a  linguistic  and  cultural 
context 
Accurate  pronunciation  and  grammar,  ability  to  respond  quickly  and 
accurately in speech situations, knowledge of sufficient vocabulary to use 
with grammar patterns are some prominent objectives of ALM. 
Typically, the procedure in an audio-lingual course would be:  
a. Students hear a model dialogue 
b. Students repeat each line of the dialogue 
c. Certain key words or phrases may be changed in the dialogue 
d. Key structures from the dialogue serve as the basis for pattern drills of 
different kinds. 
e. The students practice substitutions in the pattern drills 
 
4. Communicative Language Teaching 
There  are  many  ways  to  teach  language.  One  is  called  Communicative 
Language  Teaching  (CLT).  This  method  is  learner-centered  and 
emphasizes  communication  and  real-life  situations.  Read  the  following 
article  to  get  information  about  CLT.  The  article  was  taken  from 
http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/gallow01.html 
 
 
  29 
Online Resources: Digests  
June 1993 
Communicative Language Teaching: An Introduction And Sample Activities 
Ann Galloway, Center for Applied Linguistics 
This  digest  will  take  a  look  at  the  communicative  approach  to  the  teaching  of  foreign 
languages. It is intended as an introduction to the communicative approach for teachers 
and  teachers-in-training  who  want  to  provide  opportunities  in  the  classroom  for  their 
students  to  engage  in  real-life  communication  in  the  target  language.  Questions  to  be 
dealt  with  include  what  the  communicative  approach  is,  where  it  came  from,  and  how 
teachers' and students' roles differ from the roles they play in other teaching approaches. 
Examples of exercises that can be used with a communicative approach are described, 
and sources of appropriate materials are provided. 
Where does communicative language teaching come from? 
Its  origins  are  many,  insofar  as  one  teaching  methodology  tends  to  influence  the  next. 
The communicative approach could be said to be the product of educators and linguists 
who  had  grown  dissatisfied  with  the  audio-lingual  and  grammar-translation  methods  of 
foreign  language  instruction.  They  felt  that  students  were  not  learning  enough  realistic, 
whole  language.  They  did  not  know  how  to  communicate  using  appropriate  social 
language,  gestures, or  expressions;  in brief, they  were  at a  loss  to  communicate  in  the 
culture  of  the  language  studied.  Interest  in  and  development  of  communicative-style 
teaching  mushroomed  in  the 1970s; authentic  language use and  classroom  exchanges 
where students engaged in real communication with one another became quite popular. 
In  the  intervening  years,  the  communicative  approach  has  been  adapted  to  the 
elementary,  middle,  secondary,  and  post-secondary  levels,  and  the  underlying 
philosophy  has  spawned  different  teaching  methods  known  under  a  variety  of  names, 
including  notional-functional,  teaching  for  proficiency,  proficiency-based  instruction,  and 
communicative language teaching. 
What is communicative language teaching? 
Communicative  language  teaching  makes  use  of  real-life  situations  that  necessitate 
communication.  The  teacher  sets  up  a  situation  that  students  are  likely  to  encounter  in 
real life. Unlike the audio-lingual method of language teaching, which relies on repetition 
and  drills,  the  communicative  approach  can  leave  students  in  suspense  as  to  the 
outcome of a class exercise, which will vary according to their reactions and responses. 
The  real-life  simulations  change  from  day  to  day.  Students'  motivation  to  learn  comes 
from their desire to communicate in meaningful ways about meaningful topics. 
Margie  S.  Berns,  an  expert  in  the  field  of  communicative  language  teaching,  writes  in 
  30 
explaining Firth's view that "language is interaction; it is interpersonal activity and has a 
clear  relationship  with  society.  In  this  light,  language  study  has  to  look  at  the  use 
(function)  of  language  in  context,  both  its  linguistic  context  (what  is  uttered  before  and 
after a given piece of discourse) and its social, or situational, context (who  is speaking, 
what their social roles are, why they have come together to speak)" (Berns, 1984, p. 5). 
What are some examples of communicative exercises? 
In  a  communicative  classroom  for  beginners,  the  teacher  might  begin  by  passing  out 
cards, each with a different name printed on it. The teacher then proceeds to model an 
exchange of introductions in the target language: "Guten Tag. Wie heissen Sie?" Reply: 
"Ich  heisse  Wolfie,"  for  example.  Using  a  combination  of  the  target  language  and 
gestures,  the  teacher  conveys  the  task  at  hand,  and  gets  the  students  to  introduce 
themselves and ask their classmates for information. They are responding in German to 
a  question  in  German.  They  do  not  know  the  answers  beforehand,  as  they  are  each 
holding  cards  with  their  new  identities  written  on  them;  hence,  there  is  an  authentic 
exchange of information. 
Later during the class, as a reinforcement listening exercise, the students might hear a 
recorded exchange between two German freshmen meeting each other for the first time 
at  the  Gymnasium  doors.  Then  the  teacher  might  explain,  in  English,  the  differences 
among  German  greetings  in  various  social  situations.  Finally,  the  teacher  will  explain 
some of the grammar points and structures used. 
The  following  exercise  is  taken  from  a  1987  workshop  on  communicative  foreign 
language  teaching,  given  for  Delaware  language  teachers  by  Karen  Willetts  and  Lynn 
Thompson of the Center for Applied Linguistics. The exercise, called "Eavesdropping," is 
aimed at advanced students. 
Instructions to students: Listen to a conversation somewhere in a public place and be 
prepared  to  answer,  in  the  target  language,  some  general  questions  about  what  was 
said. 
1.  Who was talking? 
2.  About how old were they? 
3.  Where were they when you eavesdropped? 
4.  What were they talking about? 
5.  What did they say? 
6.  Did they become aware that you were listening to them? 
The  exercise  puts  students  in  a  real-world  listening  situation  where  they  must  report 
information  overheard.  Most  likely  they  have  an  opinion  of  the  topic,  and  a  class 
discussion could follow, in the target language, about their experiences and viewpoints. 
Communicative  exercises  such  as  this  motivate  the  students  by  treating  topics  of  their 
  31 
choice, at an appropriately challenging level. 
Another  exercise  taken  from  the  same  source  is  for  beginning  students  of  Spanish.  In 
"Listening  for  the  Gist,"  students  are  placed  in  an  everyday  situation  where  they  must 
listen to an authentic text.  
Objective:  Students  listen  to  a  passage  to  get  general  understanding  of  the  topic  or 
message. 
Directions:  Have  students  listen  to  the  following  announcement  to  decide  what  the 
speaker is promoting. 
Passage:  Situacion  ideal  .  .  .  Servicio  de  transporte  al  Aeropuerto  Internacional  .  .  . 
Cuarenta y dos habitaciones de lujo, con aire acondicionado . . . Elegante restaurante . . 
. de fama internacional. 
(The announcement can be read by the teacher or played on tape.) Then ask students 
to  circle  the  letter  of  the  most  appropriate  answer  on  their  copy,  which  consists  of  the 
following multiple-choice options: 
    a. a taxi service     b. a hotel     c. an airport     d. a restaurant 
(Source: Adapted from Ontario Assessment Instrument Pool, 1980, Item No. 13019) 
Gunter Gerngross, an English teacher in Austria, gives an example of how he makes his 
lessons  more  communicative.  He  cites  a  widely  used  textbook  that  shows  English 
children  having  a  pet  show.  "Even  when  learners  act  out  this  scene  creatively  and 
enthusiastically, they do not reach the depth of involvement that is almost tangible when 
they  act  out  a  short  text  that  presents  a  family  conflict  revolving  round  the  question  of 
whether the children should be allowed to have a pet or not" (Gerngross & Puchta, 1984, 
p.  92).  He  continues  to  say  that  the  communicative  approach  "puts  great  emphasis  on 
listening,  which  implies  an  active  will  to  try  to  understand  others.  [This  is]  one  of  the 
hardest tasks to achieve because the children are used to listening to the teacher but not 
to their peers. There are no quick, set recipes. That the teacher be a patient  listener is 
the basic requirement" (p.98). 
The  observation  by  Gerngross  on  the  role  of  the  teacher  as  one  of  listener  rather  than 
speaker brings up several points to be discussed in the next portion of this digest. 
How  do  the  roles  of  the  teacher  and  student  change  in  communicative  language 
teaching? 
Teachers  in  communicative  classrooms  will  find  themselves  talking  less  and  listening 
morebecoming  active  facilitators  of  their  students'  learning  (Larsen-Freeman,  1986). 
The teacher sets up the exercise, but because the students' performance is the goal, the 
teacher  must  step  back  and  observe,  sometimes  acting  as  referee  or  monitor.  A 
  32 
classroom  during  a  communicative  activity  is  far  from  quiet,  however.  The  students  do 
most of the speaking, and frequently the scene of a classroom during a communicative 
exercise  is  active,  with  students  leaving  their  seats  to  complete  a  task.  Because  of  the 
increased  responsibility  to  participate,  students  may  find  they  gain  confidence  in  using 
the  target  language  in  general.  Students  are  more  responsible  managers  of  their  own 
learning (Larsen-Freeman, 1986). 
Where can I learn more about communicative teaching? 
All  of  the  following  documents  on  communicative  language  teaching  are  in  the 
ERIC  database.  They  can  be  read  on  microfiche  at  any  library  housing  an  ERIC 
collection  or  purchased  in  microfiche  or  paper  copy  from  the  ERIC  Document 
Reproduction  Service  (EDRS),  7420  Fullerton  Road,  Suite  110,  Springfield,  VA 
22153-2852 (1-800-443-3742). 
Ben-Barka, A. C. [1982]. In search of a language teaching framework: An adaptation of a 
communicative approach to functional practice. (EDRS No. ED239507, 26 pages) 
Das,  B.  K.  (Ed.)  (1984).  Communicative  language  teaching.  Selected  papers  from  the 
RELC seminar (Singapore). Anthology Series 14. (EDRS No. ED266661, 234 pages) 
Littlewood,  W.  T.  (1983).  Communicative  approach  to  language  teaching  methodology 
(CLCS  Occasional  Paper  No.  7).  Dublin:  Dublin  University  Trinity  College,  Centre  for 
Language and Communication Studies. (EDRS No. ED235690, 23 pages) 
Pattison,  P.  (1987).  The  communicative  approach  and  classroom  realities.  (EDRS  No. 
ED288407, 17 pages) 
Riley,  P.  (1982).  Topics  in  communicative  methodology:  Including  a  preliminary  and 
selective  bibliography  on  the  communicative  approach.  (EDRS  No.  ED231213,  31 
pages) 
Savignon,  S.  J.,  &  Berns,  M.  S.  (Eds.).  (1983).  Communicative  language  teaching: 
Where  are we  going? Studies  in  Language  Learning,  4(2).  (EDRS  No.  ED278226,  210 
pages) 
Sheils, J. (1986). Implications of the communicative approach for the role of the teacher. 
(EDRS No. ED268831, 7 pages) 
Swain,  M.,  &  Canale,  M.  (1982).  The  role  of  grammar  in  a  communicative  approach  to 
second  language  teaching  and  testing.  (EDRS  No.  ED221026,  8  pages)  (not  available 
separately; available from EDRS as part of ED221023, 138 pages) 
Willems,  G.,  &  Riley,  P.  (Eds.).  (1984).  Communicative  foreign  language  teaching  and 
the training of foreign language teachers. (EDRS No. ED273102, 219 pages) 
  33 
Readers  may  also  wish  to  consult  the  following  journal  articles  for  additional 
information on communicative language teaching. 
Clark, J. L. (1987). Classroom assessment in a communicative approach. British Journal 
of Language Teaching, 25(1), 9-19. 
Dolle,  D.,  &  Willems,  G.  M.  (1984).  The  communicative  approach  to  foreign  language 
teaching: The teacher's case. European Journal of Teacher Education, 7(2), 145-54. 
Morrow,  K.,  &  Schocker,  M.  (1987).  Using  texts  in  a  communicative  approach.  ELT 
Journal, 41(4), 248-56. 
Oxford, R. L., et al. (1989). Language learning strategies, the communicative approach, 
and their classroom implications. Foreign Language Annals, 22(1), 29-39. 
Pica,  T.  P.  (1988).  Communicative  language  teaching:  An  aid  to  second  language 
acquisition? Some insights from classroom research. English Quarterly, 21(2), 70-80. 
Rosenthal, A. S., & Sloane, R. A. (1987). A communicative approach to foreign language 
instruction: The UMBC project. Foreign Language Annals, 20(3), 245-53. 
Swan, M. (1985). A critical look at the communicative approach (1).  ELT Journal, 39(1), 
2-12. 
Swan, M. (1985). A critical look at the communicative approach (2).  ELT Journal, 39(2), 
76-87. 
Terrell,  T.  D.  (1991).  The  role  of  grammar  instruction  in  a  communicative  approach. 
Modern Language Journal, 75(1), 52-63. 
References And Resources 
Berns,  M.  S.  (1984).  Functional  approaches  to  language  and  language  teaching: 
Another look. In S. Savignon & M. S. Berns (Eds.), Initiatives in communicative language 
teaching. A book of readings (pp. 3-21). Reading, PA: Addison-Wesley. 
Gerngross, G., & Puchta, H. (1984). Beyond notions and functions: Language teaching 
or the art of letting go. In S. Savignon & M. S. Berns (Eds.), Initiatives in communicative 
language teaching. A book of readings (pp. 89-107). Reading, PA: Addison-Wesley. 
Larsen-Freeman,  D.  (1986).  Techniques  and  principles  in  language  teaching.  Oxford: 
Oxford University Press. 
Littlewood,  W.  (1981).  Language  teaching.  An  introduction.  Cambridge:  Cambridge 
University Press. 
  34 
Savignon,  S.,  &  Berns,  M.  S.  (Eds.).  (1984).  Initiatives  in  communicative  language 
teaching. Reading, PA: Addison-Wesley. 
 
 
Reflection Task: 
 
1.  It  has  been  said  that  the  Grammar-Translation  Method  teaches 
students  about  the  target  language,  but  not  how  to  use  it.  Explain 
the difference in your own words. 
2.  In  the  Grammar-Translation  Method,  grammar  is  treated 
deductively, while in the Direct Method it is taught inductively. Can 
you  explain  the  difference  between  deductive  and  inductive 
treatments of grammar? 
3.  Some  people  believe  that  knowledge  of  a  first  and  second 
language  can  be  helpful  to  learners  who  are  trying  to  learn  a  third 
language.  What  would  an  Audio-Lingual  teacher  say  about  this? 
Why? 
4.   Why  do  we  say  that  communication  is  a  process?  What  does  it 
mean to negotiate meaning? 
 
Apply  what  you  have  understood  about  the  teaching  methods 
explained above. 
 
1. Pick  a  grammatical  point  or  two  contained  in  the  same  passage. 
Provide the explicit grammar rule that relates to each one and give 
some  examples.  Design  exercises  that  require  your  students  to 
apply the rule to some different examples. 
2. Choose  a  particular  situation  (such  as  at  the  bank,  at  the  railroad 
station,  or  at  the  doctors  office)  or  a  particular  topic  (such  as 
articles  of  clothing,  holidays,  or  the  weather)  and  write  a  short 
passage  or  a  dialog  on  the  theme  you  have  chosen.  Now  think 
  35 
about how you will convey its meaning to students using their native 
language. 
3. Prepare your own dialog to introduce your students to a sentence or 
sub-sentence pattern in the target language you teach. 
4. Imagine  that  you  are working  with  your  students on  the function of 
requesting information. The authentic material you have selected is 
a  railroad  timetable.  Design  a  communicative  game  or  problem-
solving  task  in  which  the  timetable  is  used  to  give  your  students 
practice in requesting information.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  36 
Chapter 5 
Communicative Language Ability 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1.  Communicative Language Performance 
Communicative  language  performance  is  the  actual  learners 
performance  in  response  to  communicative  activities  engagement 
done  in  the  class.  The  principle  underlying  communicative 
language  performance  is  the  concept  of  how  language  is  used. 
Instead of focusing solely on grammar, learners should look at what 
notions  of  the  language  expressed  and  what  communicative 
functions  learners  perform  with  the  language  (Wilkins,  1976  in 
Harmer,  2008:  69).  Thus  the  essential  strand  of  communicative 
language  performance  is  to  involve  learners  in  realistic 
communication in which the achievement target is on the accuracy 
of  their  language  use.  Some  requirements  are  supposed  to  be 
provided by a teacher who wants to assign communicative activities 
in the classroom. In this case, the teacher has to set up a situation 
that  arises  students  desire  to  communicate.  Students  should  be 
prepared to focus on meanings rather than forms and use a variety 
of language rather than one language structure. The following is the 
communication continuum of communicative activities that teachers 
have to take into account when designing communicative language 
performance for their students. 
 
 
  
Objectives: 
At the end of this chapter you should be able to: 
1.  identify the characteristics of communicative language performance 
2.  distinguish competence vs performance 
 
  37 
Non-communicative activities                   Communicative activities       
 
 
 
 
 
 
2.  Competence vs Performance 
The  distinction  between  competence  and  performance  had  been  in 
debate  amongst  scientists  and  philosophers  for  centuries. 
Competence  is  defined  as  ones  underlying  knowledge  of  a  system, 
event, or fact. It is ones invisible ability to do something or to perform 
something.  Performance,  on  the  other  hand,  is  the  observable 
realization of competence. It is the actual performance of doing things, 
such as speaking, writing, singing, dancing, swimming, etc. In state of 
the  art  societies  the  competence-performance  distinction  have  been 
used in many areas. In reference to language, however,  competence 
refers to ones underlying knowledge of the system of a language. The 
recognition of the grammar and vocabulary systems, all the pieces of 
a  language,  and  how  those  pieces  go  and  fit  together  is  covered  in 
ones  competence.  Performance,  on  the  contrary,  is  the  actual 
production  (speaking,  writing)  or  the  comprehension  (listening, 
reading)  of  linguistic  events.  Chomsky  (1965)  categorized 
performance as idealized speaker-hearer who does not demonstrate 
such performance variables as memory limitations, distractions, shifts 
of  attention  and  interest,  errors,  and  hesitation  phenomena. 
Chomskys  idea  was  that  a  theory  of  language  had  to  be  a  theory  of 
competence  as  it  was  in  line  with  the  linguists  effort  for  categorizing 
an  infinite  number  of  performance  variables  that  are  not  reflective  of 
the competence of the speaker-hearer.  
 
No communicative desire 
No communicative purpose 
Form not content 
One language item only 
Teacher intervention 
Materials control 
A desire to communicate 
A communicative purpose 
Content not form 
Variety of language 
No teacher intervention 
No materials control 
  38 
This  effort  generated  one  question:  How  could  one  scientifically 
assess this unobservable underlying ability? Brown and Bellugi (1964) 
gave  us  a  clear  illustration  of  the  difficulty  of  attempting  to  portray 
underlying  grammatical  knowledge  from  children.  When  a  child  was 
asked  to  identify  a  grammatical  pattern,  the  child  obviously  had  no 
interest  in  answering  the  question.  Having  failed  to  collect  the 
expected  data  by  means  of  a  direct  interview,  Brown  and  Bellugi 
decided to use the tape recording and transcription of countless hours 
of  speech  followed  by  studious  analysis,  or  such  data  as  certain 
imitation,  production,  or  comprehension  tests,  all  with  numerous 
disadvantages.  It  is  concluded  that  inferring  childrens  speech 
competence remains a problem. Many questions as What is a childs 
knowledge  of  the  verb  system?  Of  the  concept  of  the  phrase/  clause 
system?  
 
The distinction proposed by Chomsky has not been accepted by some 
linguists  though.  The  major  criticisms  of  the  model  fall  on  the  notion 
that  competence  does  not  accommodate  performance  variables. 
Stubbs  (1996)  reminded  us  that  dualisms  on  this  notion  are 
unnecessary,  and  the  only  option  for  linguists  is  to  explore  language 
use.  Tarone  (1988)  emphasized  that  children  and  adults  slips, 
hesitations,  and  self-corrections  are  feasibly  linked  to  heterogeneous 
competence-abilities. 
       
Reflection Task: 
 
1.  Find the examples of communicative activities that match with the 
communication continuum. Explain in what way they fit the 
communicative language performance. 
 
 
  39 
Chapter 6 
Teaching English Skills 
 
Objectives: 
At the end of this chapter you should be able to: 
1.  distinguish  productive from receptive skills 
2.  distinguish written language from spoken language 
3.  mention some ways and principles of teaching receptive and productive 
skills 
 
 
Teaching Receptive Skills 
Listening and Reading are skills which are categorized as receptive skills 
as  they  involve  responding  to  language  rather  than  producing  it.  Spoken 
Language  is  different  from  written  language.  Look  at  the  comparison 
between written and spoken language below: 
 
Written Language in English  Spoken Language in English 
Stays on page and doesnt disappear.  Disappears as soon as it is spoken. 
Sometimes it is spoken fast and sometime 
slowly, with or without pauses. 
Uses punctuation and capital letters to 
show sentences 
Shows sentences and meaningful groups 
of words through stress and intonation. 
Consists of letters, words, sentences and 
punctuation joined together into text. 
Consists of connected speech, sentences, 
incomplete sentences or single words. 
Has no visual supportexcept photos or 
pictures sometimes. 
The speaker uses body language to 
support his/her communication; for 
example, gestures (movements of hands r 
arms to help people understand us), and 
facial expressions (the looks on our face). 
  40 
This helps the listener to understand what 
the speaker is saying. 
It is usually quite well organized; sentences 
follow one another in logical sequences 
and are joined to previous or following 
sentences. 
It is not so well organized; e.g. it contains 
interruptions, hesitations, repetition and 
frequent changes o topic. 
Usually uses quite exact vocabulary and 
more complex grammar. 
Often uses rather general vocabulary and 
simple grammar. 
 
Sprat et.al. (2005: 30). 
   
Students  need  to  use  context  as  well  as  knowledge  of  the  words  to  help 
them understand the spoken language.  
 
B.  Teaching Listening 
Student  should  understand  that  there  are  various  types  of  spoken  texts, 
i.e.  conversation,  announcement,  songs,  instruction,  stories,  etc  which 
have  different  purposes,  structure  and  language  features.  Speakers 
speed and accent are two important things that students need to consider. 
Some people  speak fast  and  some others  speak  slowly.  Native  speakers 
of  English  have  different  accent  too.  According  to  Brown  (2001:252) 
learners  should  consider  specific  characteristics  of  spoken  language  to 
help  them  comprehend  easily.  At  least  there  are  8  characteristic  that  the 
learner  should  be  aware  of,  i.e.  clustering,  redundancy,  reduced  form, 
performance variable, colloquial language, rate of delivery, stress, rhythm 
and intonation and  interaction. 
 
Spratt et al (2005:32) note that activities in a listening class usually consist 
of  3  main  stages:  introductory,  main  and  post  activities.  Introductory 
involves introduction to the topic of the text and activities that focus on the 
  41 
language  of  the  text.  Main  activities  deal  with  comprehension  activities 
developing  different  listening  sub-skills.  Last,  post-activities  require 
learners to talk about the relationship between the text topic and their lives 
or giving opinion on parts of the text. 
 
There  are  a  number  of  techniques  of  teaching  listening  available  for  the 
teachers.  Brown  (2001:  255-257)  categories  types  of  classroom  listening 
performance into: reactive, intensive, responsive, selective, extensive, and 
interactive.  
a.  Reactive 
The learner only listens to the surface structure of an utterance for the 
single  purpose  of  repeating  it.  In  this  case,  Nunan  (1991:18) 
associates  listeners  role  as  tape  recorder.  This  kind  of  performance 
does  not  require  high  meaningful  processing.  A  brief  individual  or 
choral pronunciation drill is the only part that reactive performance can 
play in interactive classroom. 
b.  Intensive 
This  technique  focuses  on  components  of  discourse  such  as 
phonemes,  words,  intonation,  discourse  marker,  etc.  The  example  of 
this  technique  is  the  teacher  asks  the  students  to  listen  to  the  stress 
pattern of some words or intonation of a sentence. 
c.  Responsive 
This  technique  requires  students  to  quickly  process  the  teacher  talk 
and  make/fashion  appropriate  reply.  For  example,  the  teacher  greets 
students,  good  morning,  or  giving  command,    Would  you  please 
repeat your answer? 
d.  Selective 
The  purpose  of  this  technique  is  to  look  for  the  important  information 
(such  as  dates,  location,  main  idea,  etc.)  in  a  long  discourse  such  as 
speeches, stories, and media broadcast. 
 
  42 
e.  Extensive 
The  purpose  of  this  performance  is  to  develop  a  top  down,  global 
understanding  of  spoken  language.  For  example,  the  students  are 
asked to take notes or discuss after listening to a lengthy lectures. 
 
f.  Interactive 
This performance includes all five of the above types. For example, the 
learners  are  asked  to  participate  in  a  debate,  conversation,  role  play 
and other group work. This may include other skills and conduct in the 
authentic communicative exchange.  
 
C.  Teaching Reading 
Reading  may  refer  to  a  fluent  process  of  readers  combining  information 
from  a  text  and  their  own  background  knowledge  to  build  meaning 
(Nunan,  2003:  68).  Furthermore  he  adds  that  the  goal  of  reading  is 
comprehension.  
 
There are at least two aspects of teaching reading that need to consider.  
The  first  is  whether  the  learners  learn  reading  for  the  first  time,  and  the 
second  is  whether  the  learners  already  have  reading  skills  in  the  first 
language  (Nunan,  1989:68).  In  addition  he  emphasis  that  if  the  learners 
are already able to read in their L1, what they need to learn further is how 
to  transfer  the  reading  skills  to  the    a  new  reading  context  and    a  new 
language.  Reading  is  actually  a  silent  activity.  Therefore,  classroom 
approaches,  Nunan  says  (2003:  69),  need  to  underline  the  silent  nature 
of reading skill and avoid overemphasis on oral reading.  Some teachers, 
however, believe that teaching oral reading is the best approach to teach 
reading. 
 
 
 
  43 
Principles of Teaching Reading 
Nunan (2003: 74) proposes some principles for teaching reading: 
1.  Exploit the readers background knowledge 
2.  Build a strong vocabulary base 
3.  Teach for comprehension 
4.  Work on increasing reading rate 
5.  Teach reading strategies 
6.  Encourage readers to transform strategies into skills 
7.  Build assessment and evaluation into your teaching 
8.  Strive for continuous improvement as a reading teacher. 
 
Teaching Productive Skills 
D.  Teaching Speaking 
Brown (2001) proposes some techniques of teaching speaking as follow: 
1.  imitative 
This technique focuses on some particular elements of language form. 
The  example  of  this  is  drilling.  To  some  extent,  drilling  is  good  as  it 
helps learners to establish psychomotor pattern (to loosen the tongue). 
2.  intensive 
This  performance  is  intended  to  attempt  some  phonological  or 
grammatical aspects of language.  
3.  responsive 
The  example  of  this  is  short  reply  to  teacher  or  student-initiated 
question. 
4.  transactional (dialogue) 
The  purpose  of  transactional  dialogue  is  to  convey  or  exchange 
specific information (e.g. conversation). 
5.  interpersonal (dialogue) 
The purpose of this performance is to maintain social relationship. This 
type  of  dialogue  is  rather  tricky  as  it  may  convey  aspects  such  as 
casual register, colloquial language, slang, ellipsis, sarcasm, etc.  
  44 
6.  extensive (monologue) 
Monologue  can  be  planned  or  impromptu.  Teacher  may  ask  students 
to  perform  monologue  in  the  form  of  oral  reports,  summaries  or  short 
speeches. 
 
E.  Teaching Writing 
Writing is a process and a product. Studies present writing as a recursive, 
nonlinear  cognitive  process  in  which  the  writer  moves  back  and  forth 
between  pre-writing,  writing,  revising  and  editing  until  he/she  is  satisfied 
with his/her creation (Flower & Hayes, 1981: 365-387). The following are 
principles  of  teaching  writing  proposed  that  need  to  be  considered  by 
teachers when they plan the course (Nunan, 2003:92): 
 
1.  Understand your students reasons for writing 
2.  Provide many opportunities for students to write 
3.  Make feedback helpful and meaningful 
4.  Clarify  for  yourself,  and  for  your  students,  how  their  writing  will  be 
evaluated 
 
 Producing  a  text  in  English  as  a foreign  language  is  a  complex  process. 
As  reported  by  Chen  (2006,  p.1)  many  studies  show  that  beginning  EFL 
students  tend  to  be  obstructed  by  their  first  language  in  the  process  of 
writing  in  English.  EFL  students  like  Indonesian  students,  who  learn 
writing  English  text  often find  many  difficulties.   Writing  then becomes an 
activity that some students do not want to do.  
 
Here are some principles in teaching writing as proposed by Tang (2006) : 
1.  raise students awareness 
2.  help student to analyze their own ideas 
3.  read to write 
4.  teach process writing 
  45 
5.  create a learner-centered classroom in active communication 
 
According  to  Tang  (2006),  process  writing  is  more  advantageous  to  
students, comparing to product writing.  Product writing, a rather traditional 
approach  of  writing,  is  accuracy-oriented  and  the  students  are  plunged 
into isolated environment. It is characterized by a 3-step procedure:  
a.  the teacher gives the title to write on 
b.  the students do the drafting 
c.  the teacher does the correction. 
 
Process writing focus is on the students needs. It  is characterized by the 
awareness  of  the  writer  of  the  writing  process  and  the  intervention  of  a 
teacher,  or  peers,  at  any  time  during  the  process  of  writing  in  order  to 
improve writing skills instead of exclusively fixing mistakes (Susser, 1994: 
34-35 as cited in Tang , 2006).  
 
Reflection Task: 
1.  Which  listening  sub-skills-gist,  detail,  specific  information,  or 
attitude-do the following questions about this conversation focus 
on? 
A.  What is the conversation about? 
B.  What does Yuko want her life to be like in 20 years 
time? 
C.  How many children does Hiroko want? 
D.  Does Hiroko sound happy? 
2.  What  are  the  easiest  and  most  difficult  things  for  you  about 
reading in English? 
3.  What  helped  you  most  to  read  English  well  when  you  were  a 
learner? 
4.  Which  aspects  of  speaking  English  do  you  find  most  easy  and 
difficult now? 
  46 
5.  How did you learn to write English? Was it the best way? 
6.  What  are  the  easiest  and  most  difficult  things  about  writing  in 
English? 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  47 
GLOSSARY 
 
ESL (L2)  : English as Second Language 
EFL    : English as Foreign Language 
L1    : First Language 
L2    : Second Language 
GTM    : Grammar Translation Methods 
Forms   : the teaching of isolated and unconnected sentence 
structures. 
TEFL    : Teaching English as Foreign Language 
EAP    : English for Academic Purpose 
ESP    : English for Specific purpose 
TOEFL  : Test of English as Foreign Language 
IELTS   : International English Language Testing System 
CPH    : Critical Period Hypothesis 
` 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  48 
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