Essential+FLP+Concepts

I Methodologies and approaches to FL instruction: a.Grammar Translation method b. Audio-lingual method c.Natural approach d.Communicative approach

II Linguistics of SLA: a. Structuralism ( Contrastive analysis) From: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | Date: 2008 | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. ( Copyright information [|Hide copyright information] ) 
 * ====== **Structuralism** theory that uses culturally interconnected signs to reconstruct systems of relationships rather than studying isolated, material things in themselves. This method found wide use from the early 20th cent. in a variety of fields, especially [|linguistics], particularly as formulated by Ferdinand de [|Saussure] and Roman [|Jakobson] . Anthropologist Claude [|Lévi-Strauss] used structuralism to study the kinship systems of different societies. No single element in such a system has meaning except as an integral part of a set of structural connections. These interconnections are said to be binary in nature and are viewed as the permanent, organizational categories of experience. Therefore structuralism, is about identifying patterns in languages which lead to the Contrastive Analysis or Contrastive Linguistics. ======
 * **Contrastive Analysis** (CA) or Contrastive Linguistics: "In the study of foreign language learning, the identification of points of structural similarity and difference between two languages" (Crystal, 1992, p. 83). "Contrastive analysis was developed and practiced in the 1950s and 1960s as application of structural linguistics to language teaching" (Richards, Platt & Platt, 1992, p. 83). CA describes similarities and differences among two or more languages at such levels as phonology, grammar, and semantics. Contrastive Analysis was used extensively in the field of [|Second Language Acquisition] (SLA) in the 1960s and early 1970s, as a method of explaining why some features of a [|Target Language] were more difficult to acquire than others. According to the [|behaviourist] theories prevailing at the time, language learning was a question of [|habit formation], and this could be reinforced or impeded by existing habits. Therefore, the difficulty in mastering certain structures in a [|second language] (L2) depended on the difference between the learners' mother language (L1) and the language they were trying to learn.

b. Universal Grammar( LAD,Interlanguage, Monitor Model) c. Output hypothesis d.Structured Input and output

III The psychology of SLA: a. Language and the brain ( Broca's area, Wernicke's area, Plasticity, Critical period hypothesis) b.Behaviorism c. Constructivisim d. Cognitive variables in SLA ( Learning style, learning strategies, Multiple intelligences) e. Affective variables ( Anxiety, Motivation)

IV The Sociology of SLA: a. Acculturation b. Interaction ( Zone of Proximal Development, Scafiiolding, Interactional Modifications) c. Global and national status of L1 and L2

V National Standards/TESOL Standards: **a. National Standards in Foreign Language teaching ** ** Origins of the national standards: **   The idea of communicative competence of the 1970’s prompted the need to specify levels of competence so progress could be measured in terms of what students could //do// with the language, rather than what was being //taught// or //covered// in a given course.

There was a growing realization that we needed more than a “perfect method;” we needed an “**organizing principle**” that could facilitate the goals and objectives of language teaching, as well as guide the development of a widely used, nationally approved procedure to assess language proficiency. This also reflected a new interest in excellence in education at the national level. Thus, in April of **1978** under the support of **Jimmy Carter** and Congressman **Paul Simon**, the **President’s Commission on Foreign Language and International Studies** was established. This commission, working together with the ETS (and other organizations) expanded on the FSI’s (Foreign service institute of the U.S. military) proficiency test and scale to create the “**Common Yardstick**”, an equivalent tool used for academic purposes. ** ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines: ** This project (common yardstick) was then continued by the ACTFL in the 1980s and developed into the **ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines**, a detailed scale used to define and measure language ability that is multidimensional in structure, requiring more language skill as levels increase. Levels include 4 assessment criteria: __ ACTFL Proficiency Framework __ 1.) **Global tasks** or **functions**: asking for information, narrating and describing past events, expressing opinions. 2.) **Context** and **content**: circumstances where these tasks are performed (example: Context= in a restaurant in Paris. Content= ordering a meal) 3.) **Accuracy**: grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, fluency, sociolinguistic appropriateness, acceptability of what’s being said within a setting, strategies 4.) Oral **text type**: results of performance of task (discrete words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, extended discourse) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">National standards in FL education (the 5C’s) : ** □<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The 5C’s are based off of this proficiency framework. □<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Also fueled by the **Proficiency movement** (1980’s-1990’s): Stress on communication. Learners perform functions with some degree of accuracy. Self-expression and creativity. Use of language in variety of context, authentic texts, integration of culture and language. □<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Developed by ACTFL as part of the Bush Administration’s America 2000 and later Clinton’s Goals 2000 education initiative in order to develop //<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">content standards – ­//<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">what students should know and be able to //do// with the language. □<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">  <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Include 5 //goal areas// (the 5 C’s) that intend to help FL learners reach any and all of the diverse goals and purposes in learning a FL. □<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">  <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Emphasis placed on: Communicative competence. Participation in global community. Critical thinking skills. Cultural education. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">The 5 Cs: 1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> **COMMUNICATION**: communicate in languages other than English. 2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> **CULTURES**: Gain knowledge and understanding of other cultures 3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> **CONNECTIONS**: Connec<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">t with other disciplines and acquire information 4.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> **COMPARISONS**: Develop insight into the<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> nature of language and culture 5.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"> **COMMUNITIES**: Participate in multilingual communities at home and around the world

b. TESOL Standards **1. TESOL Standards for ESL/EFL Teachers of Adults** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left; display: block;">Standards for ESL/EFL Teachers of Adult Learners, published in 2008, offers performance indicators, vignettes, and evaluation tools for instructors. These clearly organized components will help instructors identify the qualities and practices to pursue in their teaching.

The standards in this book address planning, instructing, and assessing as the basis for effective teaching. These three core standards lead to five additional standards that focus on both the instructor and the instruction: identity and context, language proficiency, learning, content, and commitment and professionalism. Collectively, these eight standards represent the foundation of what professional teachers of ESL and EFL to adult learners should know and be able to do.

Standard 1: Teachers plan instruction to promote learning and meet learner goals, and modify plans to assure learner engagement and achievement. Standard 2: Teachers create supportive environments that engage all learners in purposeful learning and promote respectful classroom interactions. Standard 3: Teachers recognize the importance of and are able to gather and interpret information about learning and performance to promote the continuous intellectual and linguistic development of each learner. Teachers use knowledge of student performance to make decisions about planning and instruction “on the spot” and for the future. Teachers involve learners in determining what will be assessed and provide constructive feedback to learners, based on assessments of their learning. Standard 4: Teachers understand the importance of who learners are and how their communities, heritages and goals shape learning and expectations of learning. Teachers recognize the importance how context contributes to identity formation and therefore influences learning. Teachers use this knowledge of identity and settings in planning, instructing, and assessing. Standard 5: Teachers demonstrate proficiency in social, business/workplace and academic English. Proficiency in speaking, listening, reading and writing means that a teacher is functionally equivalent to a native speaker with some higher education. Standard 6: Teachers draw on their knowledge of language and adult language learning to understand the processes by which learners acquire a new language in and out of classroom settings. They use this knowledge to support adult language learning. Standard 7: Teachers understand that language learning is most likely to occur when learners are trying to use the language for genuine communicative purposes. Teachers understand that the content of the language courser is the language that learners need in order to listen, to talk about, to read and write about a subject matter or content area. Teachers design their lessons to help learners acquire the language they need to successfully communicate in the subject or content areas they want/need to learn about. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left; display: block;">Standard 8: Teachers continue to grow in their understanding of the relationship of second language teaching and learning to the community of English language teaching professionals, the broader teaching community, and communities at large, and use these understandings to inform and change themselves and these communities
 * Domain: Planning**
 * Domain: Instructing**
 * Domain: Assessing**
 * Domain: Identity and Context**
 * Domain: Language Proficien**cy
 * Domain: Learning**
 * Domain: Content**
 * Domain: Commitment and Professionalism**


 * 2.** TESOL Standards for PreK-12 Students

Since TESOL's //ESL Standards for Pre-K12 Students// was originally published in 1997, the population of English language learners across the United States has increased substantially, and the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (2001) has dramatically changed elementary and secondary education. To stay abreast of these developments, TESOL has revised its ESL student standards. The published volume will be available by the end of March 2006 Standard 1: English language learners communicate for social, intercultural, and instructional purposes within the school setting. Standard 2: English language learners communicate information, ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in the area of language arts. Standard 3: English language learners communicate information, ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in the area of mathematics. Standard 4: English language learners communicate information, ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in the area of science. Standard 5: English language learners communicate information, ideas, and concepts necessary for academic success in the area of social studies.

http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/seccss.asp?CID=113&DID=1583http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/seccss.asp?CID=113&DID=1583