Multiple Intelligences in the structure of a new English syllabus for secondary school

Techniques

1.      FL  used  throughout.

2.      Audio-visual  approach.

3.      Speech  before  reading.

4.      No  translation-meaning  conveyed  through  visual/mime.

Objectives

1.      Fluency  in  speech.

2.      Capacity  to  think  in  target  language.

3.      Meaningful  everyday  language.

4.      Grammar  to  be  include  from  practice.

5.      Explanations  in  foreign  language.

Pros

1.      Lively  procedure  in  classroom.

2.      Correct  pronunciation.

3.      Absence  of  rule-giving.

4.      Learning  through  doing

Cons

1.      Plunges  learners  too  soon  into  unstructured  situations.

2.      Foreign-Language  learner  not  like  infant  native-language  learner.

3.      Dangers  of  including  wrong  rule.

4.      Tremendous  energy  needed  be  teacher.

Audio-Lingual  Method

The  Audio-Lingual  Method  like  the  Direct  Method  we  have  just  examined, has  a  goal  very  different  from  that  of  the  Grammar-Translation  Method. The  Audio-Lingual  Method  was  developed  in  the  United  States  during  the  Second  World  War. At  that  time  there  was  a  need  for  people  to  learn  foreign  languages  rapidly  for  military  purposes. As  we  have  seen  G-TM  did  not  prepare  people  to  use  the  target  language. While  the  communication  in  the  target  language  was  the  goal  of  DM, there  were  at  the  time  exciting  new  ideas  about  language  and  learning  emanating  from  the  disciplines  of  descriptive  linguistics  and  behavioural  psychology.

We  can  trace  the  Audio-Lingual  Method  rather  directly  to  the  “scientific”  linguistics  of  Leonard  Bloomfield  and  his  followers. Both  behaviouristic  psychology  and  structural  linguistics  constituted  a  reaction  against  a  vague  and  unscientific  approach  to  the  questions  of  human  behaviour. Including  the  acquisition  of  knowledge.

Every  language, as  it  is  viewed  here, has  its  own  unique  system. This  system  is  comprised  of  several  different  levels: phonological, lexical, and  syntactical. Each  level  has  its  own  distinctive  features.

Everyday  speech  is  emphasized  in  the  Audio-Lingual  Method. The  level  of  complexity  of  the  speech  is  graded  so  that  beginning  students  are  presented  with  only  simple  forms.

The  structures  of  the  language  are  emphasised  over  all  other  areas. The  syllabus  is  typically  a  structural  one, with  the  structure  for  any  particular  unit  include  in  the  new  dialogue. Vocabulary  is  also  contextualized  within  the  dialogue. It  is  however, limited  since  the  emphasis  is  placed  on  the  acquisition  of  the  patterns  of  the  language.

The  underlying  provision  of  this  method  include  five  maxims  to  guide  teachers  in  applying  the  result  of  linguistic  research  to  the  preparation  of  teaching  materials  and  to  classroom  techniques:

8.       Language  is  speech, not  writing.

a)                        Emphasis  on  correct  pronunciation  from  the  beginning;

b)                       Listening  and  speaking  before  reading  and  writing;

c)     Realistic, situation  utterances  from  start;

d)                       Oral  mastery  first; reading/writing  as  reinforcers; time  lag  will  depend  on  sitution.

9.      Language  is  a  set  of  habits.

a)                                                      Based  on  the  assumption  that  language  learning  is  a  habit  formation  process, pattern  drilling  and  dialogue  memorization  are  extensively  used;

10. Teach  the  language, not  about  language;

a)                        Revolt  against  the  grammar-translation  method;

b)                       Grammar  for  the  teacher  not  the  learner;

c)                       Learn  through  doing, through  active  practice

d)                       Practice  first, rules  induced  later.

11. A  language  is  what  its  native  speakers  say, not  what  someone  thinks  they  ought  to  say:

a)                        Emphasis  on  colloquial  wealth  of  language;

b)                       Literary  language  at  much  later  stage;

c)                       Traditional  grammar  mistrusted: functional  styles  (occupational, emotive, informative)  studied  as  well  as  language  of  attitude.

12. Languages  are  different:

a)                        Universal  rules  of  transformational  grammar  mistrusted;

b)                       Contrastive  studies  of  language  encouraged;

c)                       Translation  accepted  when  necessary  or  possible;

d)                       Translation  a  later  skill  with  its  own  techniques

Techniques:

1.      Situational  dialogues.

2.      Everyday  language.

3.      Emphasis  on  speaking – aural – oral  active  participation.

4.      Mimicry-memorisation.

5.      Pattern-drilling-choral/individual – Role  playing/Dialogue  building.

6.      Reading  and  writing  to  reinforce.

7.      Awareness  of  graphic  interference.

8.      Rules  to  be  induced  from  practice.

A-LM  enables  the  students  to  use  the  target  language  communicatively. In  order  to  do  this  the  students  are  believed  to  overlearn  the   target  language. To  learn  to  use  it  automatically  without  stopping  to  think. The  students  achieve  this  by  forming  new  habits  in  the  target  language  and  overcoming  the  old  habits  of  their  native  language.

The  teacher  is  like  an  orchestral  leader, directing  and  controlling  the  language  behaviour  of  the  students. He  is  also  responsible  for  providing  his  students  with  a  good  model  of  imitation. The  students  are  imitators  of  the  teacher’s  model  or  the  tapes  he  supplies  of  model  speakers. They  follow  the  teacher’s  directions  and  respond  as  accurately  and   as  rapidly  as  they  can.

New  vocabulary  and  structures  are  presented  through  dialogues  and  texts. These  are  learnt  through  imitation  and  repetition, transposition  are  based  upon  the   patterns  in  the  dialogue  or  texts. Students  successful  responses  are  positively  reinforced. Grammar  is  induced  from  the  example  given; explict  grammar  rules  are  not  provided. Cultural  information  is  contextualized  in  the  dialogues  and  texts  or  presented  by  the  teacher. Students’  reading  and  writing  work  is  based  upon  the  oral  work  they  did  earlier.

 Thus  the  main  provisions   of  this  method  can  be  conveniently  summarized  in  the  following  way:

            Fluency  on  four  skills  with  initial  emphasis  on  listening  and  speaking.

            Formative  function: understanding  culture  through  language.

Pros:

1.      Useful  language  learnt  from  outset.

2.      Good  pronunciation  achieved  through  sound  discrimination  and  auditory  practice.

3.      Materials  especially  devised  on  contrastive  analysis  rather  than  total  structures –presentation  based  on  frequency  counts  and  utility.

4.      Reading  and  writing  not  neglected  but  postponed   to  serve  as  reinforcement.

5.      Highly  motivating: learner  senses  achievement  from  beginning  through  practical  use  and  participation.

6.      A-LM  requires  and  encourages  use  of  simple  and  mechanical  aids.

Cons:

1.      Lack  of  spontaneity  if  learning  is  overmechanical.

2.      Reliance  on  inductive  process  dangerous.

3.      Time  lag  between  oral  and  written  work: dependence  on  ear  alone  can  lead  to  insecurity – emotional  dislike  of  aural-oral  work  and  invention  of  graphic  equivalents.

4.      A-LM  for  all  students? Average  student  does  best, intelligent  student  border?

5.      Makes  considerable  demand  on  the  teacher: preparation/drilling/imagination.

6.      Is  order  of  presentation  natural?

7.      Does  A-LM  produce  language  illiterates –fluent  speakers  who  cannot  read  or  write?

Possible  remedies:

1.      Avoid  dull  drills –contextualize: use  variety.

2.      Practice  should  be  meaningful  and  point  of  drill  should  be  explained  to  the  learner  and  understood.

3.      Time  lag  must  vary  according  to  situation – in  some  cases  oral/written  work  side  be  side.

4.      Intelligent  students  should  be  told  that  practice  makes  perfect – hence  importance  of  fluency, clarity  and  precision.

5.      Order  of  presentation  probably  logical  though  analogy  with  child  learner  not  relevant. Adult  is  trained  to  think  and  use  books/dictionaries, but  without  first  learning  how  to  pronounce  words  he  will  not  learn  how  to  read  well.

6.      Experience  showed  that  A-LM  trainer  learner  did  better  is  all  skills  than  traditional  counterpart  except  in  writing.

Though  the  emphases  at  the  beginning  are  strongly  on  listening  and  speaking, no  devaluation  of  literature  is  implied. It  appears  that  mastery  of  sound  system  of  a  language  is  essential  for  efficient  reading  and  for  appreciation  of  literature. One  of  the  qualities  that  makes  a  work  of  literature  great  is  the  choice  of  words  and  phrases, and  one  of  the  factors  that  governs  this  choice  is  how  they  sound. “To  read  a  work  of  literature  without  any  idea  of  what  it  sounded  like  to  the  writer  is  to  be  as  handicapped  as  the  tone-deaf  listening  to  music  or  the  colour-blind  looking  at  a  painting”.

Losanov’s  Method  or  Suggestive  Method

Few  methods  have  been  met  with  claims  ranging  from  sensational  to  skeptical: mysterious  and  costly, a  highly  questionable  new  gimmick  (one  critic  has  unkindly  called  it  “a  package  of  pseudo-scientific  gobbledygook”)  and  far  remote  from  language  teaching  styles  as  language  sleep  learning, medative  relaxation, electrical  and  sound  impulses (E. Davydova).

Suggestopedia  as  G. Lozanov  called  his  pedagogical  application  of  :The  Science  of  Suggestology”  aims  at  neutralizing  learning  inibitions  and  de-suggesting  false  limitations  that  cultural  norms  impose  on  learning.

The  suggestive  method  or  Suggestopedia  is  a  modification  of  direct  method. The originator of this method believes, as does Silent Way's Caleb Gattegno, that language learning can occur at a much faster rate than what ordinarily transpires. In G. Losanov's view the reason for the pupils  inefficiency is that they set up psychological barriers that block the way to learning. They fear that they will be unable to perform, that they will be limited in the ability to learn, and finally fail. One result is that the learners' full mental powers are not engaged. According to G. Losanov and his proponents, only five per cent of the learners' mental capacity is used. In order to make better use of the mental reserves the limitations, which they think we have, need to be "desuggested". Suggestopedia, the application of the study of suggestion to pedagogy, has been developed to help students eliminate the feeling that they cannot be successful and, thereby, to help them overcome the barriers to learning.

The  behaviourist  principles of G. Losanov's method assume the form of five maxims:

1. Get the learners to utter the same structure repeatedly.

2. Get them to do so correctly.                               

3. Do this through good grading of structures by arranging them in order of difficulty and by introducing them one at a time if possible.  

4. The behaviourist approach is repetition and drilling to the point where the learner automatically makes the correct response.

5. Lessons must be designed so as to prevent the learners from making mistakes.

Behaviourist psychology described all learning (including language acquisition) as a matter of conditioning - as the formation of habits through responses to outside stimuli. Thus one learns a language through mimicry, memorisation and analogy .

Communication takes place on "two planes": on linguistic and psychological one. On the linguistic plane the message is encoded; and on the psychological are factors which influence the linguistic message. On the conscious plane, the learner attends to the language; on the subconscious plane, the music suggests that learning is easy and pleasant; when there is a unity between conscious and subconscious, learning is enhanced .

The class, where this method is used, is different from other classrooms    - the students are seated in cushioned armchairs that are arranged in a semicircle facing the front of the room. The teacher is lively, dynamic, confidant, yet sensitive, and speaks only the target language, which suggests that the learners do the same. In the firsts three-hour meeting all learners choose a new name and nationality, after which they are given a fictional autobiography. By means of song, imitation, and play, the learners introduce themselves to each other and assume their new roles. Then over the next two days, the teacher twice presents a long script, each time with a different aim and a different learning set-up; these script performances called "concert sessions", are accompanied by music. In the first of these, the "active concert session", the music is emotional, and the tone of the artistic presentation reflects the character of the music. The learners have the script in two languages arranged in short phrases on opposite sides of  the page. After  the "concert session" come various kinds of elaboration activities, including group and choral reading of parts of the scripts, singing and playing games as a group and individually. The second day the script is performed again, this time in a "pseudopassive concert session” where a state of wakeful relaxation is artfully stimulated. This reading is accompanied by music of a different tone and mood, generally barouque style. Following that, the learners (in their new identities) are aided again in elaborating the script in various ways. This may include narrating a story or event, or creating an original story, using the language in the script .

Gradually the selection of vocabulary becomes more elaborate. It may include situations from literary works, rustic scenes, and facts from everyday life. Using pantomime to help the students understand, the teacher acts out various occupations, such as pilot, singer, carpenter and artist. The students choose what they want to be.

The teacher reads a dialogue partly in English and partly through pantomime, and outlines the dialogue's story. He also calls his students attention to some of the comments regarding vocabulary and grammar structures.

Next, the teacher asks the students to read the dialogue in a sad way, in an angry way and finally in an amorous way. This is followed by asking questions about the dialogues. Sometimes he asks the students to repeat an English line after him; still other times he addresses a question from the dialogue to an individual student.

So, the principles and techniques of Suggestopedia can be  conveniently  summarized  under  the  following  headings:

1.      classroom  set-up;

2.      positive  suggestion;

3.      visualization;

4.      choosing  a  new  indentity;

5.      role-play;

6.      concert;

7.      primary  activation  (the  students  playfully  re-read  the  dialogue);

8.      secondary  activation  (the  students  engage  in  various  activities  designed  to  help  them  learn  the  new  material  and  use  it  spontaneously).

Activities  particularly  recommended  for  this  phase  include  singing, dancing, dramatisations, games. The  important  thing  is  that  the  activities  are  varied  and  don’t  allow  the  students  to  focus  on  the  form  of  the  linguistic  message, just  the  communicative  intent.

And  finally, instruction  is  designed  so  as  to  tap  more  successfully  the  learning  powers  of  the  mind  and  eliminate  psychological  barriers  that  block  learning  and  inhibit  production. The  lessons  are  pleasant, interesting, and  nonthreatening;  the  teacher  gives  lots  of  encouragement, and  similar  admonitions.

Eclectic Method                  

Having come to the realisation that each learner possesses distinct:

cognitive and personality traits, it follows that one teaching methodology will not be the most appropriate for all students. The recent tendency has therefore been towards eclecticism, selecting materials and techniques from  various sources.                                                  

This obviously puts a much larger responsibility on the teacher,  for now he should be familiar with a much wider range of materials, exercises and activities than before. It is no longer a matter of picking up the textbook  and following it page by page.                                      

Depending on the content and difficulty of the subject matter, the learner would apply one or more of these different types of learning in a given situation. Evidently, if the teacher is to be aware of this multiple  individual cognitive and personality factors and be able diagnose and  utilise them to the fullest, he must have more than a passing knowledge of the recent investigation in all related sciences. But the problem lies not only in lies amount of information to be mastered but in the organization and application of that knowledge to a practical situation.

An eclecticist  tries to absorb the best techniques of all well-known language-teaching methods into his classroom procedures and seeks the balaced development of all four skills at all stages while retaining emphasis on an oral presentation first. He adopts his methods to the changing objectives of the day and to the types of students who pass through his classroom. The eclectic teacher is imaginative, energetic, resourceful, and willing to experiment. His lessons are varied and interesting.

Techniques

1. Some grammatical explanations in native language.     

2. Translation as short-cut to conveying meaning.

3. Balanced development of four skills at all stages with  emphasis an  aural-oral  procedures.                   .

4. Adjustments according to needs of class and personalities of  teachers.

Communicative Method of FLT

A comparative study of methods and approaches in TEFL/TESL has shown that the past methodologies seem to have pursued too narrow objectives. A flexible uniform language-teaching strategy should be based on a careful selection of facets of various methods and their integration into a cohesive, coherent working procedure which will suit the realities of the particular teaching situation. It is assumed that the goal of language leaching is the learner's ability to communicate in target language. It is assumed that the content of a language course will include linguistic structures, semantic notions, and social functions. Students regularly work in groups or pairs to transfer meaning in situations where one student has information that the others lack. Students often engage in role-play or dramatizations to adjust their use of the target language to different social contexts. Classroom materials and activities are often authentic to reflect real-life situations and demands. Skills are integrated from the beginning: a  given activity might involve reading, speaking, listening and perhaps also writing. The teacher's role is primarily to facilitate communication and only secondarily to correct errors. The teacher should be able to use the target language fluently and appropriately. Written activities should be used sparingly with younger children. Children of six or seven years old are often not yet proficient in mechanics of writing in their own language.

In methodological literature of the last two decades the word "communicative" is the most frequently used one. Communicative method (sometimes referred to as approach) grew out of the works of anthropological linguists who view language first and foremost as the system of communication .This method stresses the need to teach communicative competence as opposed to the linguistic competence: thus functions are emphasized over form. The long and complex history of communicative competence and the importance of the relation between ideas about the nature of language and their social, intellectual and cultural contexts have become a major concern not only for methodologists, linguists, but also for psychologists and social theorists.

Communicative theory enables learners to realize that every speech act takes place in a specific social situation. Psychological factors (the learners' age, sex, complement of the group, pupil's personality, their roles, etc.) as well as linguistic factors (a topic of discussion, type of discourse; a colloquial, informal or formal variety of English (also known as register) play a crucial role here. In other words appropriateness and accessibility of speech in the particular social situation are as equally important as accuracy of pronunciation and grammar.

Communicative competence is the ability of learners to use the language appropriately for the given socio-cultural context. To do this the learners should be able to manage the process of negotiating meaning with the teacher and among themselves.

Communicative competence is not a compilation of items, but a set of strategies or creative procedures for realizing the value of linguistic elements in contextual use, an ability to make sense as a participant of spoken or written discourse by shared knowledge of code resources and rules of language use .

The content of communicative instruction is based on the concept that the process of instruction and the model of  communication. 

All this does not necessarily mean that the process of instruction is the exact replica of the process of communication. When we communicate, we use the language to accomplish some function, such as persuading, arguing, agreeing, disagreeing or promising. Moreover, we carry out these functions within an appropriate social context. A speaker will choose a peculiar way to express his argument according to his intent, his level of emotion, and what his relationships with the collocutor are. For example, he may be more direct in arguing with his friend than with his senior.

Furthermore, since communication is a process, it is insufficient for learners to simply have knowledge of target language forms, meanings, and functions. Students must be able to apply this knowledge in negotiating  meaning. It is through the interaction between speaker and listener (or reader and writer) that meaning becomes clear, the listener gives the speaker feedback as to whether or not he understood what the speaker has said. In this way the speaker can revise what he has said and try to communicate Ins intended meaning again, if necessary.

In  communication, the speaker has a choice of what he will say and how he will say. If the exercise is tightly controlled so that the pupils can only say something in one way, the speaker has no choice and the exchange, therefore, is not communicative. In a chain drill, for example, a student must answer his collocutor's question. In the same way he replied lo someone else's question. Therefore, the student has no choice of form  and content and quasi-communication occurs.

True communication is purposeful. The speaker can thus evaluate whether his intent, based upon the information he receives from the listener, has been achieved. If the listener does not have an opportunity to provide the speaker with such feedback, then the exchange is not really  communicative.

Communication has parameters which are difficult to prognose,  there are no certain guidelines to govern this interactive process. To model communication means to establish basic constraints, its underlying  principles which include:

1.      individual approach;

2.      functional approach (stresses the context rather than the very  structure of language);

3.      communication-oriented activity;

4.      personal  involvement;

5.      situational  approach;

6.      novelty;

7.      heuristics.

The teacher's role is to have his students to become communicatively competent. To do this students need knowledge of the linguistic forms, meanings, and functions. They need to be reminded that the said categories are in dialectical unity and many different forms can be used to perform a function, as well as a single form can often serve a variety of functions. They must be able to choose from these forms the most appropriate one, given the socio-cultural context and the roles of the interlocutors.

The teacher's role is to facilitate the teaching/learning process, to establish situations which will promote communication. During the activities he acts as an advisor, answering his students questions and monitoring their performance. At other times he might be a "co-communicator" - engaging in the communicative activity along with the Students .

Since the teacher's role is less dominant than in a teacher-centered method, (DM, A-LM, CC-LT, etc.) students are seen as more responsible managers of their own learning.

        The most obvious characteristics of the communicative method is that almost everything that is done is done with a communicative purpose. Students use the language a great deal through communicative activities such as games, role-plays, and problem-solving tasks.

Activities are truly communicative according to Johnson K. and Marrow K., they cover three features; information gap, choice, and feedback. Another characteristic feature of CM is the use of authentic materials. It is considered desirable to give students an opportunity to develop

strategies for understanding language as it is actually used by native speakers.

Finally, such activities are carried out by students in small groups. Small numbers of students interacting are favored in order to maximize the time allotted to each student for learning to negotiate meaning.

The teacher is the initiator of the activities, but he does not always interact with the students. Sometimes he is a co-communicator, but oftener he establishes real-life situations that prompt communication between and among the students. The students interact a great deal with one another. They do this in various configurations: pairs, triads, small groups, and the  whole class.

One of the basic assumptions of CM is that students will be more  motivated to study a FL since they will feel to do something useful with the  language they study.

The teachers give students an opportunity to express their individuality by having them share their ideas and opinions on a regular basis. This helps students "to integrate the foreign language with their own personality and thus to feel more emotionally secure with it" .

Learners' mistakes should not be constantly corrected but regarded with greater tolerance, as a completely normal phenomenon in the development of communicative skills. In short, communicative method leaves the learner scope to contribute his own personality to the learning process. It also provides the teacher with scope to step out of his didactic role in order to be a "human among humans" .

Finally, students' security is enhanced by many opportunities for cooperative interaction with their fellow students and the teacher.

Culture is the everyday lifestyle of people who are native speakers of the language. There are certain aspects of it that are especially important to communication -the use of non-verbal behaviour, which receives greater  attention in CM.

Students work on all four skills from the beginning. The target  language should be used not only during communicative activities, but also, for example, in explaining the activities to the students or in assigning homework. The students learn from these classroom management exchanges, and realise that the target language is a  means and vehicle of communication,  not just a subject to be studied.         

The teacher supervises his students' performance at every stage of their work. He evaluates not only their accuracy, but their fluency and prosody as well. The student who has the most control of the structures and vocabulary is not always the best communicator. For more formal evaluation, a teacher is recommended to use a communicative test. This is an integrative test which has a real communicative function.

The  teacher  also  assumes  an  integrated  approach  to  students’  errors.  Errors  of  form  are  tolerated  and  are  seen  as  a  natural  outcome  of  the  development  of  communication  skills. Some  students  can  have  limited  linguistic  knowledge  and  still  be  successful  communicators.

To  substantiatiate  and  implement  CM  into  practice  means  to  go  beyond  its  general  description. It  is  important  to  take  into  account  all  methodological  functions  of  these  underlying  principles, their  content, and  see  what  results  could  be  anticipated  in  all  four  skills  of  activity.

Thus  communicative  competence  entails  not  solely  grammatical   accuracy  but  knowledge  of  socio-cultural  rules  of  appropriateness, discourse  norms – the  ability  to  sustain  coherent  discourse  with  another  speaker, and  strategies  for  ensuring  remedial  work  for  potential  breakdown  in  communications.

Emphasis  is  placed  on  developing  motivation  to  learn  through  establishing  meaningful, purposeful, coherent  discourses  in  the  target  language. Individuality  is  encouraged, as  well  as  cooperation  with  peers. Who  contribute  to  a  sense  of  achievement  and  emotional  security  with  the  target  language.   

Supplement 3.

 The Seven Intelligences

Intelligence End-States Core Components

Logical- Scientist Sensitivity to, and capacity to discern, logical or
mathematical Mathematician numerical patterns; ability to handle long chains of reasoning.

Linguistic Poet Sensitivity to the sounds, rhythms, and meanings Journalist of words; sensitivity to different functions of language.

Musical Composer Abilities to produce and appreciate rhythm,
Violinist pitch, and timbre; appreciation of the forms of
musical expressiveness.

Spatial Navigator Capacities to perceive the visual-spatial world
Sculptor accurately and to perform transformations on
one's initial perceptions.

Bodily- Dancer Abilities to control one's body movements and
kinesthetic Athlete to handle objects skillfully.

Interpersonal Therapist Capacities to discern and respond appropriately Salesman to the moods, temperaments, motivations, and
desires of other people.

Intrapersonal Person with Access to one's own feelings and the ability to detailed, discriminate among them and draw upon them
accurate self- to guide behavior; knowledge of one's own
knowledge strengths, weaknesses, desires, and intelligences.

Supplement 4.

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