Q.1

What do you mean by the term ‘role’ in the context of English language teaching? Distinguish between a transmission role and an interpersonal role. Justify your answer with examples.

Answer:

The term ‘role’ is borrowed from the stage. Dramatists recognized the significance of roles in ‘real’ life long before anyone claimed to be a social scientists. The dramatists show us roles in action. From the spectacle of life presented to us in the theatre, we turn with fresh insight to the spectacle of life around us, and we may say, ‘All the world’s a stage’. A simple event will illustrate this and help to clarify the concept of role. The term role is related to the role of teacher in teaching language, the role of students in learning language, the role of environment in providing opportunities of listening and speaking the language and the role of syllabus in developing the skills of language in students. The concept of role is very wide and extends far beyond the idea of putting on a calculated performance. It is frequent to find the term ‘role’ in many situations but I will focus only on the teacher’s role as the development of a job.

Two roles of teachers

First of all it would be convenient to consider this characterization of the teacher’s role by Gerald Dykstra:“…near automatons who stand up, call roll, talk a lot, give cues, ask simple contentquestions, check fro comprehension, check for recall, keep records, discipline students,bestow grades and generally carry on with clerical tasks far below what their won levelof ability might be.” (Dykstra 1978:4)Essentially, teachers have two major roles in the classroom: the first one is transmission role and the second one is interpersonal role. Both roles are depended on each other and we can not separate them both are very important in teaching process. But both roles are different to one another in the former the teacher provides knowledge to the students through demonstrations and lectures in this role the students are usually passive and the teacher is active and in the later the teacher provides practice to his students in this role the students and teacher are active. The teacher interprets about knowledge which he has transmitted in his former role by involving the students in the discussions and he uses different drills to achieve his purpose. We are going to discuss the both roles one by one.

Transmission role

In this role the teacher transfers his knowledge to the students and he is like a pivot among the students in this role. Because it is teacher oriented role so the students have to listen his teacher to get knowledge; they do not interfere in his lecture and remain silent. Any type of lecture and demonstrations are the examples of this role. As we said that it is teacher centered role it means that it is up to a teacher that what is to teach to the students and how to teach, what style is to apply and how to apply it in teaching process.

Interpersonal role

Interpersonal role is different role of the teacher in this role the teacher is a manager and

an invigilator in the class room who interacts to the students and makes them to interact

each other in order to achieve progress in teaching process. We can call this role a student

oriented role of the teacher. The example of this role is the working of the students in

pairs and in groups in the class room. In broader sense of interpersonal role the teacher

has to communicate not only with the students but also to his colleagues, the parents of

students, head of department and also to the principal of the institution. In this role the

teacher provides opportunities to his students to give their suggestions about topics. He

motivates them to guess the answers of questions and converting the affirmative

sentences in to interrogative and negative sentences while teaching tenses in grammar.

Conclusion

After knowing about two roles of a teacher we can conclude that both roles are very

important in teaching process if we neglect any one role in teaching it will effect the

whole teaching process so it is the duty of a teacher to apply both roles in good sequence

for effective and useful teaching.

Q. 2

Groups are made to perform certain activities in the class room according to the teaching plan. What are the various ways of forming groups in class room? Justify the use of group work in English language class room.

Answer:

Group work is very important element in teaching language we can get a lot of advantages by applying this technique in teaching language but it would be effective when a teacher will be able to manage the groups in the class other wise there may be disturbance in the class room and the results will be opposite. Groups have to perform certain activities according to the instructions of the teacher. There are different ways of making groups which we will discuss later. First of all, we are going to discuss real advantages of group making with the help of couple of reference to justify the use of group work in English language class room.

Advantages of group working in language class rooms

This session is about getting a group to gel and establishing a good cohesive working bond between the pupils in the class. Establishing a good classroom dynamic makes class management easier and more effective as the class works together as a team. It has many advantages. Group cohesiveness helps build confidence in using language, taking risks and feeling safe. It’s motivating, providing language classes with a genuine reason for learning, common goals. Generating interest in each other, personalizes language and a desire to communicate. Doing it with large multilevel classes however requires organization and planning but is worth the extra effort when you experience the resulting cooperation and effect on learning. A positive group atmosphere can have a very beneficial effect on morale, motivation and self-image of its members and significantly affect learning by developing a positive attitude to the language being learned, the learning process and to the students themselves. (Hadfield, 1992)

Establishing a rapport and a genuine interest in them will encourage them to take an interest in each other. A supportive group attitude is non-competitive, where members of the group listen to one another and cooperate in performing tasks. They feel they can experiment, play with the language and ask each other questions to clarify things they do not understand. They help one another and learn through doing so. It draws out the quieter students and the strong ones can help. Trust is important and empathy to each others’ points of view. It helps to develop the learner’s socio-linguistic competences of knowing what to say, when Language learning becomes a non-threatening shared experience where learners do not feel exposed.

In this session we are going to give some arguments to justify our answer in favor of group work in ESL class rooms.

Argument 1

Group work increases language practice opportunities. In all probability, one of the main reasons for low achievement by many classroom SL learners is simply that they do not have enough time to practice the new language. This is especially serious in large EFL classes in which students need to develop aural-oral skills, but it is also relevant to the ESL context.

Argument 2

Group work improves the quality of student talk. The lockstep limits not only the quantity of talk students can engage in, but also its quality.

Argument 3

Group work helps individualize instruction. However efficient it may be for some purposes-for example, the presentation of new information needed by all students in a class the lockstep rides roughshod over many individual differences inevitably present in a group of students. Group work, then, is a first step toward individualization of instruction, which everyone agrees is a good idea but which few teachers or text-books seem to do much about.

Argument 4

Group work promotes a positive affective climate. In other words, freedom from the requirement for accuracy at all costs and entry into the richer and more accommodating set of relationships provided by small-group interaction promote a positive affective climate. This in turn allows for the development of the kind of personalized, creative talk for which most aural-oral classes are trying to prepare learners.

Argument 5.

Group work motivates learners. Several advantages have already been claimed for group work. It allows for a greater quantity and richer variety of language practice, practice that is better adapted to individual needs and conducted in a more positive affective climate. Students are individually involved in lessons more often and at a more personal level. For all these reasons and because of the variety group work inevitably introduces in to a lesson, it seems reasonable to believe that group work motivates the classroom learner.

Various ways of group making

a) pair work

b) small groups c) big groups d) competitive groups e) cooperating groups

In pair working the students work in pairs any task can be given to a pair from a teacher for example a teacher provides two pictures to a pair in which a game is given to match the words to the pictures and then both students give the sequence to the picture. In pairs students can dialogue to one another on certain tasks. Pair work is an easy to manage the class for a teacher as compare to group work.

Small groups can also be arranged in the class room by a teacher in writing task a teacher can provide different kinds of pictures to different groups in this way they can work together on pictures.

In crowded class rooms we can not arrange big groups but in small class rooms we can arrange two or three big groups. In this way the teacher will be able to provide least materials and will feel relieve in small class rooms.

We can arrange such type of activities in which the groups are supposed to be competitors of each other such type of groups definitely will be motivated in learning language and they will work more enthusiastically.

Competitive groups are useful to motivate the students but the main function of groups is to cooperate to each other so we mostly prefer to form cooperative groups rather than competitive.

Conclusion

After above beneficial discussion of group forming and justifying the group work in language class rooms we can conclude that the group forming is very fruitful in language class rooms if a competent teacher arranges the class in sensible way. Other wise a non competent teacher can spoil this brilliant idea and can get false consequences due to his faulty management in the class room.

Q. 3( a )

Presentation stage provides a base in lesson plan to teach any thing. What do you mean by the presentation stage in TEFL methodology?

Answer:

Presentation stage according to TEFL methodology

According to TEFL methodology presentation stage is the stage where a teacher executes his lesson in the class room through lecture method and demonstrations if he has a facility of audio or visual aids he gets advantages of such type of aids to pursue his goal. Presentation stage is second stage in lesson planning the steps which are taken by the teacher in this stage are following.

Lesson Planning and Implementation 1. Unit title 2. Instructional goals 3. Objectives 4. Rationale 5. Content 6. Instructional procedures 7. Evaluation procedures 8. Materials

The teacher has to describe the students about unit title and to explain it. Then he moves upon his instructional goals by giving useful instructions to his student about the topic that what we are going to learn and what we will get from this. And what sort of activities we will have to do in order to get our goals. Further he explains his objectives. For example if he is teaching via direct method and he is teaching Present Simple Tense, his primary objective will be to make his students to communicate in this Tense effectively and secondary objective to write accurate sentences in target tense. While on the other hand for a teacher who is teaching through grammar translation method objectives may be different. RATIONALE (brief justification -- why you feel the students need to learn this topic.) contents are those lessons or points which the teacher is going to teach in his presentation, in other words we can say what is to be teach in detail. Unit title is explained in minor details and motivated to the students while describing them about unit title but in contents whole lesson is described through procedures.

Instructional procedures

Focusing event (something to get the students' attention) Teaching procedures (methods you will use) Formative check (progress checks throughout the lesson) Student Participation (how you will get the students to participate) Closure (how you will end the lesson)

In evaluation procedures the teacher tells the students about the criteria of evaluation. Materials are those things which are used by the teacher in his presentation like chalk board, charts, pictures, audio video aids etc.

Conclusion

To conclude we can say that Presentation stage is the core in lesson planning. If any teacher would not present his lesson effectively he can not get success in further stages like practice and production. Presentation is teacher centered role in which a teacher transmits his knowledge to his students. So transmission of knowledge must be in interesting and useful way so that the students could learn foreign language enthusiastically.

b ) Suppose you are teaching a new lesson in the class, how would you present new materials in three different ways in the class? Support your answer with examples.

Answer

We can present new materials or new language in the class in different ways but mostly we use three different types of approaches in our presentations we are going to discuss these approaches in detail. Actually these approaches are three different ways and all ways are beneficial in teaching second language. Thus a teacher can use these different ways in order to give variety in his teaching methodology. This variety develops interest in students to learn foreign language. Only one way of teaching can not develop interest in students because it is human nature that he feels dullness and boring in a steady and single approach of teaching. So we have to give some flavors in our teaching methodology in order to motivate our students. Three different ways of presenting new language materials are following.

Deductive approach

In this approach the teacher decides to pre teach the new grammar so that its meaning will be clear in students’ mind when they read the passage. The reading will then reinforce and revise their understanding of the new grammar which they have already been taught by the teacher. The teacher pre- teaches the students the grammar by giving them lots of examples. For example the teacher is teaching Present Simple Tense so his

deductive approach will allow him to write some examples on board or if he has some other materials he will demonstrate them in front of his students and then he moves towards passage. The passage will also be consisted on most of Present Simple Tenses and the teacher can ask to the students to underline the Present Simple sentences.

Inductive approach

In this approach the teacher says nothing about any new grammar, but just prepares for the reading passage in the normal way. But doing this, he hopes that the new grammar will be taught by itself through its context. The teacher even allow students to stumble over the new grammar at first, believing that they are working its meaning out for themselves as they do so. Then the teacher will ask the students to try to explain the use of the new tense with reference to the two non- simultaneous actions in the past.

Dialogues

Dialogues are very useful in presenting new vocabulary. They have several advantages over the use of individual model sentences:

1) They can have a much higher interest level than separate sentences. 2) They can have much more of a context since they are based on situations.3) They can be used for later controlled practice.4) They encourage student participation.

In this way of teaching the teacher should first read the full dialogue by self and then he asks to students to participate. In presenting new grammar via dialogue is most useful than former two approaches.

Conclusion

To conclude, we can say hat in our situation the deductive traditional approach works very well in our class rooms than other two approaches but we should keep in mind that all these three approaches have their own plus points so we must use all three ways in teaching to create variety in our teaching methodology.

Q. 4

What is syllabus? Differentiate between structural syllabus and functional syllabus in detail. How these two syllabi are helpful in teaching language?

Answer:

Definition of syllabus

According to Wikipedia the free encyclopedia A syllabus (pl. syllabi or syllabuses; from Latin syllabus "list" probably of Greek origin), is an outline and summary of topics to be covered in an education or training course. It is descriptive (unlike the prescriptive or specific curriculum). A syllabus is often either set out by an exam board, or prepared by the professor who supervises or controls the course quality.

Both syllabus and curriculum are often fused, and usually given to each student during

the first class session so that the objectives and the means of obtaining them are clear. A

syllabus usually contains specific information about the course, such as information on

how, where and when to contact the lecturer and teaching assistants; an outline of what

will be covered in the course; a schedule of test dates and the due dates for assignments;

the grading policy for the course; specific classroom rules; etc.

Notional/Functional syllabus

notional-functional syllabus is a way of organizing a language-learning curriculum, rather

than a method or an approach to teaching. In a notional-functional syllabus, instruction is

not organized in terms of grammatical structure, as had often been done with the audio-

lingual method (ALM), but instead in terms of "notions" and "functions."

In this model, a "notion" is a particular context in which people communicate. A

"function" is a specific purpose for a speaker in a given context. For example, the

"notion," of shopping requires numerous language "functions," such as asking about

prices or features of a product and bargaining. Proponents of the notional-functional

syllabus (Van Ek & Alexander, 1975; Wilkins, 1976) claimed that it addressed the

deficiencies they found in the ALM by helping students develop their ability to

effectively communicate in a variety of real-life contexts.

Stuructural syllabus

The content of language teaching is a collection of the forms and stuctures, usually grammatical, of the language being taught. Examples include nouns, verbs adjectives, statements, questions, subordinate clauses and so on. The syllabus which is impied in our government schools is a clear example of structural syllabus. It is usually in the form of prescribed books and notes.

Benefits of syllabi in language teaching

The syllabus serves many purposes for the students and the teacher such as ensuring a fair and impartial understanding between the instructor and students such that there is minimal confusion on policies relating to the course, setting clear expectations of

material to be learned, behavior in the classroom, and effort on student's behalf to be put into the course, providing a roadmap of course organization/direction relaying the instructor's teaching philosophy to the students, and providing a marketing angle of the course such that students may choose early in the course whether the subject material is attractive.

Many generalized items of a syllabus can be amplified in a specific curriculum to

maximize efficient learning by clarifying student understanding of specified material

such as grading policy, locations and times, other contact information for instructor and

teaching assistant such as phone or email, materials required and/or recommended such

as textbooks, assigned reading books, calculators (or other equipment), lab vouchers, etc,

outside resources for subject material assistance (extracurricular books, tutor locations,

resource centers, etc), important dates in course such as exams and paper due-dates, tips

for succeeding in mastering course content such as study habits and expected time

allotment, suggested problems if applicable, necessary pre-requisites or co-requisites to

current course, safety rules if appropriate, and objectives of the course.

Conclsion

To conclude we can say that both types of syllabi are helpful in teaching forieg language

if we have sensible management and teachers who can imply these syllabus in

educational institutions, in a sensible way. Furthur we can not over rely on any one of the

syllabi there should be blend in choosing syllabi for teaching foreign language.

Q.5

What do you mean by the term athentic materials? What are the main difficulties in choosing authentic materials for class room use? Explain it in detail.

Answer:

When a teacher want to teach foreign language he has to select some meterials that

should be the source of motivation for the students and also have the capability to fulfill

the pupose of teaching so such type of meterials are taken from real life situations in this

way we have to select articles, pictures and headlines from newspapers and other sources

like magazine,book reviews, letters, editorial comments and advertisments etc. On the

other hand when we adopt traditional approach and use structural syllabus to teach any

certain thing in language class room we have to be more traditional and use certain book

to fulfill our eaching purpose but this type of meterial will not be interesting and tha

source of motivation for the students so it is not athentic meterial rather on the other side

the meterial which we select from newspapers and magazines are athentic meterials.

Difficulties in choosing athentic meterials

As we have discussed that the athentic meterials are the great source of motivation but a

teacher have to face a lot of difficulties in choosing athentic meterials for class room use.

We are going to discuss some difficulties one by one.

a) when a teacher wants to choose any meterial in the form of article he will find

wide range of vocabulary which is more often uncontrolled by the auther this un

controlled vocabulary is a problem for the teacher who is teaching on primary or

secondary level.

b) The second thing in this type of meterial is different type of grammatical

structures used by the auther which is also a problem for the teacher who only

wants to teach any one topic of grammar.

c) Another thing which creates a problem for the teacher is the use of different form

of writen language in headlines of news papers the sentences are often without

punctuation and some times difficult phrases are used. Some times auxiliaries are

omitted in sentences and only content forms are used.

d) The teacher has to careful in choosing statements and articles in which the context

is difficult to percieve for a lesser student. Students must be familiar with the

context.

e) The choosing meterials must be according to the age, interest and language

learning levels of the students. It is also a difficult task for the teacher.

f) The teacher also has to careful in discarding and choosing the topics which can be

controversial for some of the students in the class. For example , if the topic is

against any certain group or sect it can be controversial.

g) There is yet another difficulty in choosing athentic meterials that is content.the

topics which we find in news papers are usually time passing and only for

interests so we have to select more general topics rather specific ones.

h) More often register are used in articles and magazines about certain topics. As we

know the registers are those content words which are concerned with any

particular profession. So it is also a difficulty in choosing athentic meterials.

Conclusion

To conclude, we can say that the athentic meterials are great source in teaching

foreign language which provide motivation to the learners and provide them real

knowledge about life because real objects and situations are used in athentic

meterials. But the teacher has to care about the difficulties which have been discussed

above while choosing athentic meterials.