English

as a mother tongue. English as a second language. English as a Foreign language. The language of the worlds written information. A lingua franca

  

Languages policies and goals They are made at the highest level of national and educational planning. They may specify a) the aims or goals that serve as justifications for the teaching of English; b) the circumstances under which English will be taught. Examples of educational aims: 1. for appreciation of foreign cultures. 2. for reasons of higher education. 3. for scientific and technological advancement. 4. for international commerce, trade, and communication.

There are a number of facilities available for the implementation of language policies: 1. Ministeries of education: these are responsible for turning language policies into curriculum plan. 2. Curriculum development units and centers: these turn curriculum plans into curriculum content and courses. 3. Schools and educational institutions: these are responsible for teaching curriculum content. 4. The Media: these may assist in the reception of policies, and provide auxiliary learning support.

5. Educational research institutions: these evaluate the degree to which policies are effective and are being successfully implemented. 6. Teacher training institutions: these prepare teachers to teach the curriculum 7. Textbook boreau: these prepare the necessary textbooks and support materials. 8. Testing and examination centers: these develop and sometimes administer test and examinations based on the curriculum. 9. Translation bureaus: these provide specialized services for government and the private sector. 10. Foreign cultural organizations: Organizations such as the British Counsil of the American Agency for International Development assist ministeries of education, schools, teacher training institutions, and textbook boreaus in implementing language policies.

Language policy thus specifies the aims that a government or planning body sets for its educational system with respect to the role of languages in the educational system. So. How these aims are realized is the domain of what is known as curriculum development.

 Curriculum

development in langauge teaching is concerned with the following processes and activities 1. Determine the needs of a group of leaners have for English instruction. 2. Developing activities for a language course that will meet those needs 3. Selecting teaching and learning activities and experiences that will enable these needs to be realized. 4. Evaluating the outcome.

1.

2.

3. 4.

The goals of the needs-analysis phase of curriculum planning are to determine what a particular group of learners expect to use English for and what their present level of competence is. Needs analysis procedures may involve interviews with foreign students already in the university to determine perceptions of their major language difficulties, interviews with lecturers and instructors, observation of students in classes to see how well they are able to carry out the assignments, examination of their lecture notes, essays, and so on, to determine their difficulties, as well as tests to determine the students level of proficiency in reading, writing, and note taking.

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aims of a needs analysis are thus to determine the type of situations in which the learner will be using English, the task and activities they are expected to carry out or to take part in in English and their existing language skills and abilities.

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needs analysis enables goals to be set. They must be realistic in the terms of the setting and the circumstances in which the program will be implemented, and relevant in terms of the language skills the learner will be expected to acquire.

There are certain questions that help to determine the parameters within a language course operates:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

What facilities are avalible? Who will the teacher be and what is their degree of training and competence? Who is responsible for implementing and monitoring change? How much time is available? What are the limitations of the existing program? By examining the needs of the learner , general goals are turned into a more specific description of what the language program should be set out to achieve.

Objectives specify precisely what the learner should be able to do after a unit or period of instruction (unit or course) and they serve to present the aim of the course in a form that can be taught, observed and tested. Whereas the aim of the course in spoken English might be described simply as to teach basic conversational skills. Objectives would specify precisely what is meant by basic conversational skills. These might include: Ability to use vocabulary of 2000 words commonly occurring in conversation Ability to give basic information and ask simple questions about topics concerned with family life, personal identification, place of work, place of residence, employment, hobbies, etc.

 Objectives

define the ends that the curriculum is designed to bring about, that is, the changes in knowledge and ability that the curriculum is expected to acomplish in learners. Subsequents phases are concerned with planning the means by which the objectives can be achieved. Syllabus design is the process by which content is selected for a course of instruction in language teaching. Generally, a syllabus presents a particular view of what is needed to attain an objective.

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refers to the system of methods (procedures and activities) that will be used to teach the content of the syllabus. The techniques, classroom activities, and tasks that forms the methodology of teaching different language skills should be designed by the teacher and should be perceived by the learner as a means toward the ends, not merely as ends in themselves.

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2.

Monitors the teaching process in order to ensure that the system works. Determines which phases of the system need adjustment when problems are detected.

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2.

3.

Evaluation is concerned not only with the product or results of language teaching, but also with the processes by which language learning is accomplished. Its procedures include: Analysis of the system through which the program is delivered, to determine if it represents the optimal structuring of time, resources, learners, teachers, and materials. Analysis of the goals and objectives of the program to see if they are relevant and attainable. Evaluation of the results of the program to see if the level of performance attained are compatible with the program objective.

4. Evaluation of results obtained to ascertain if these were achieved as a result of the program, or despite it. 5. Analysis of the process by which the program is implemented.

 Sociocultural

factors:

Sign of elitism Normal and inevitable Modernism and technological sophistication

Teaching

and learning styles:

Active verbal mode vs. Passive verbal mode Learnng styles as route memorization.
Learner

factors:

Personal goals and motivation determine the criteria learners use to evaluate the relevance of the course, and consequently the amount of effort they are going to put in.

 Methodology

is concerned with developing and validating exercises and teaching activities by assessing the effect they have on the development of specific linguistic skills and abilities. Method indicates the procedures involved to accomplish the goal. It is a way of doing something, especially a systematic way; it implies an orderly logical arrangement.

 Degree

of preparation of teachers. Validating of existing curriculum and testing procedures Charateristics of the students population. Software and materials Coordination of resources Testing and evaluating procedures

METHOD: APPROACH: defines those assumptions, beliefs and theories about the nature of language and the nature of language learning that operate as axiomatic constructs or reference points and provide a theoretical foundation for what language teachers ultimately do with learners in the classroom.

DESIGN: specifies the relationship of theories of language and learning to both the form and function of instructional materials and activities in instructional settings. PROCEDURE: comprises the classroom techniques and practices that are consequences of particular approaches and designs.

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content of instruction roles in the system roles in the system materials types and functions

Learner Teacher

Instructional

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focus is the moment-to-mment techniques, practices and activities that operate in teaching and learning according to a particular method.