Teaching english to pre-school children and children in a primary school

In the junior stage the role of the teacher is great: he presents the language material, stimulates and directs pupils' correct usage of the material presented. However it does not mean that his activity should “dominate” during the lesson. On the contrary, care should be taken to increase pupil-practice time. Special investigations have shown that teachers are often too active during the lesson. Sometimes the teacher's activity takes 75 per cent of the lesson time and 25 per cent is left for the class. In this case we cannot expect much learning on the part of the pupil. Indeed 45min. = 2 700 sec. The teacher is talking (and doing something else, reading, for instance) 30 min. or 1 800 sec. Thus 900 sec. are left for the class. If there are 20 pupils in the class, each child has 45 sec. at his disposal. This is not so much for learning the language.

Of course in the initial lessons we cannot minimize the teacher's participation in this bilateral process, and l:l may be considered a reasonable relationship. The teacher manages the class activities by giving directions; he shows the pupils how to pronounce something, or what and how to say in this or that situation, he presents new words and grammar items by giving vivid examples and using audio-visual materials; he guides the class by pointing out his pupils' errors; he praises good work and encourages the class to further perfect their habits and skills; he evaluates the work of the class. All this requires time, and if we take into consideration that pupils are slow in grasping much of what the teacher says and he is sometimes forced to repeat what he utters a second time to be understood by the pupils, the time utilized by the teacher is not wasted and the ratio fifty-fifty is justified. However the relationship should be gradually changed in favour of pupils, for every child to be able to have practice in speaking, reading, and writing. Thorough unit and daily planning can ensure rational distribution of time during the lesson between the teacher and the class so that favourable conditions may be created for the pupils' learning a foreign language.

Given below is a general outline of a daily lesson for the 5th form during the oral introductory course with its interpretation.

1. The beginning of the lesson 2--3 min.

2. Pronunciation drill 8--10 min.

3. Oral practice 30--35 min.

4. Homework 1--2 min.

The beginning of the lesson is used by the teacher for greeting the class and getting everyone ready for the lesson, for telling his pupils what they will learn and how that will be achieved. The latter is said in the pupils' mother tongue because the class is not prepared for understanding the foreign language.

Pronunciation drill enables the teacher to concentrate pupils' attention on sounds, sound combinations, rhythm, and melody. The teacher usually utilizes the material already covered to get the pupils to practise in producing sounds, words with these sounds, phrases and sentences correctly by asking the class to pronounce all this in unison and individually. Since learning to pronounce properly in the target language is the most important objective for beginners during the oral introductory course, eight-ten minutes' drill is needed to achieve necessary pronunciation habits. To help pupils to acquire these habits the teacher either conducts pronunciation drill himself or uses audio-visual materials so that pupils can watch how to produce sounds, words, phrases and sentences, i.e., how wide or narrow the teacher opens his mouth, whether the voice goes up (the teacher moves his hand up) or it falls (the teacher moves his hand down).

If the pupils find difficulties, they can get some further help by listening to the teacher's explanation and watching how to produce this or that sound, word, etc. When the teacher has only an audio means, for instance, a tape-recording or a record, he uses this to support his efforts in teaching pronunciation.

Since pronunciation in the English language differs greatly from that of the Russian language, the teacher should not hurry and should do his best to help each pupil to make progress in discriminating and producing English sounds to be able to speak this language. As there are 18 - 20 pupils in the group and each needs special attention on the part of the teacher, eight-ten minutes should be devoted to pronunciation drill.

Oral practice implies the revision of the material covered and the presentation and assimilation of some new linguistic material for further developing pupils' hearing and speaking activities. This is the core of each lesson providing the theme or topic as well as the new vocabulary and structure. They are all woven into natural English whether in simple questions and answers, dialogue or monologue. Thus within this part of the lesson we can easily distinguish:

Revision. Pupils perform exercises which make communication possible, however elementary the level of such communication may be. Their speech is stimulated by the teacher's commands and requests, objects and pictures. The work is done mainly individually and in pairs.

Presentation of new words and new sounds (if there are any) and sentence patterns. The teacher uses direct and translation methods by choice. Pupils perform drill exercises: repetition, substitution, extension, etc. Audiovisual aids and various visual materials are used as stimuli. The work is done in unison and individually for all the pupils to be able to pronounce new words and sentences presented as many times as possible.

Assimilation. Pupils perform speech exercises within the new and old material. The teacher creates favourable conditions for the pupils to use the material presented in speech, both in dialogue and monologue using classroom situations and other stimuli for the purpose. Oral practice takes 30 - 35 minutes.

Homework during the oral introductory course or the pre-reading phase may include: drawing objects whose names the pupil has learnt and giving them names; simple structural drill; contrastive phonology drills; learning the rhyme at which the class has worked during the lesson by heart; practising a dialogue they have learnt in class. It is desirable that the pupil should have a model to be able to compare his pronunciation with the one given; non-controlled practice might bring about the learning of incorrect forms, structures and pronunciation. The practice records that accompany the textbook are a common source of model pronunciation. To save the quality of the record which usually inclines to scratches, it is recommended that the text should be re-recorded on a tape. A language laboratory may be used as a homework centre to which pupils may come, during free hours to do their homework. Of course pupils need to be taught how to work with this kind of home study material. The content of homework during the oral introductory course will depend on the length of the latter. If it is short, for instance two-four weeks, then pupils need not be given any homework, at least no homework which requires the use of audio materials. If it lasts for a term pupils should have some homework, otherwise the lack of conventional homework may establish negative attitude to the subject on the part of both pupils and parents; they may classify it as something that is not serious. In any case, the teacher informs his pupils, and, if necessary, their parents, what will be done in class and how to practise effectively at home.

During the oral introductory course some preparatory work in reading begins. Pupils may be taught to discriminate English letters.

The teacher shows a letter, for example, P and says it stands for [p]. He invites pupils to name the words in which they hear this sound. Pupils recollect the words: pen, pencil, picture, and so on. 2 - 3 minutes may be devoted to this work during the lesson, beginning with the middle of the course.

Possessing an outline for a daily lesson the teacher fills it in with concrete material. Here is one of the possible ways to write a daily plan. In may look like this:

Level: 5th form.

September 18

Objectives: 1. to teach pupils the sound ... and to understand the use of the words ... in the sentence patterns

2. To develop hearing and speaking skills on the material covered.

1. The beginning of the lesson. (2 min).
Greeting.

Classroom expressions.

2. Pronunciation drill. (8 min.)

Use

Have every pupil pronounce in chorus and individually

3. Oral practice. (30--35 min.)

Review:

- Ask questions for every one to answer.

- Use objects (movements) and pictures of ...

- Have pupils make statements about the objects shown.

- Require pupils to ask and answer questions: T - class; P- class; P - P (work in pairs). (10 min).

- Present the words ... . Introduce the sound .... Use the direct method for conveying the meaning of ... and translation for ... . Have pupils listen to the sentences ..., repeat them in unison and individually. (10 min).

Develop pupils' skills:

- In hearing. Each child receives a picture (or an object). I say sentences ... for them to recognize the one which relates to the object each has. Then they change the pictures and listen to the speaker from the tape-recorder.

- In speaking. Each speaks about the picture he has following the model. (14 min.)

4. Homework. (1 min.)

Draw ... and practise saying ... .

A general outline for a daily plan for the junior stage when pupils learn hearing, speaking, reading, and writing may look like this:

1. The beginning of the lesson 3-5 min.

2. Pronunciation drill 3-5 min.

3. Oral practice 15-20 min.

4. Reading 7-12 min.

5. Writing 3-8 min.

6. Homework 1 min.

The beginning of the lesson is used not only for the pupils to get ready for the lesson, but also for “free talk”, of course within their ability to understand the language spoken and to speak it.

Pronunciation drill remains one of the main points of the lesson. Pupils are trained to pronounce sounds, phrases, sentences, rhymes. For example, cat, map, cap, in the garden, on the skating-rink. Don't go home alone.

Father, mother, sister, brother;

Hand in hand with one another.

Pupils listen either to the teacher, or to the tape-recording or the record. They repeat the words, phrases and sentences in imitation of the teacher or the speaker individually and in chorus. Special attention is given to individuals. The teacher corrects mistakes, if there are any. Songs and poems may serve as material for pronunciation drill at this stage. If the teacher uses a song or a poem he explains briefly to the pupils in Russian what the song or the poem is about.

The teacher plays or sings the entire song once while the pupils listen. He reads or recites the poem to the class.

The teacher drills the lines to be taught. The lines are broken up into phrases and pronounced by the teacher in the rhythm in which they are to be sung or recited. The pupils repeat first in chorus and then individually. The teacher and pupils sing the song or recite the poem softly at first.

The teacher divides the class into groups and has each group sing or recite separately. Errors are immediately corrected.

Then the teacher calls on individuals to come up in front of the class to recite for the class or to sing; the latter can be suggested to volunteers only.

Pupils develop their hearing and speaking skills:

- when assimilating new words, phrases, and sentence patterns presented in performing drill and creative exercises (this is the case when oral language is used as a means of learning the language.

- when hearing and speaking in the English language in connection with the situations suggested (this is the case when the target language is used as a means of communication). The materials used for the purpose are: sentence patterns and words for substitution, pattern dialogues, pattern utterances related to the situations in which pupils can use them.

Pupils develop their reading skills:

- when reading aloud;

- when reading silently.

The materials used for the purpose are: exercises mostly with flash cards and texts in the textbooks, and supplementary readers.

Pupils develop their writing skills when assimilating the English graphic system and performing various written exercises.

Homework should include reading, writing, and speaking and require approximately 20 minutes a day. Pupils need to be shown how to work at home. They should be cautioned against translation and be encouraged to read the text aloud, grouping the words in sense-groups;, to read for meaning and sequence of ideas; to answer the questions given before or after the text; to compose questions on the text, and so on. Pupils should know that when copying words, phrases or sentences they should first read them aloud, look at them attentively and then write a whole word, a whole phrase, or a whole sentence. This will help them in learning the words and structures and in mastering English spelling.

Lecture 5

Unit planning

Plan:

Number of class-periods allotted to the lesson in the calendar plan

Unit plan

Planning a class-period

The teacher needs two kinds of plans to work successfully: the plan of a series of class-periods for a lesson or unit of the textbook or a unit plan, and the daily plan or the lesson plan for a particular class-period.

In compiling a unit plan, i. e., in planning the lesson of the textbook, the teacher determines the difficulties of the lesson, namely, phonetic difficulties (sounds, stress, intonation); grammar difficulties (grammar items, their character and amount), and vocabulary difficulties (the amount of new words, their character).

He then distributes these difficulties evenly over the number of class-periods allotted to the lesson in the calendar plan.

1. The teacher starts by stating the objective or objectives of each class-period, that is, what can be achieved in a classroom lesson. Of course the long-term aims of the course help the teacher to ensure that every particular lesson is pulling in the right direction and is another step towards gaining the ultimate goals of the course. “To help the class to speak English better”, “To teach pupils to aud” or “To develop pupils' proficiency in reading” cannot be the objectives of the lesson because they are too abstract to be clear to the learners. The lesson objectives should be stated as precisely as possible. Pupils coming to the lesson should know what they are, to do during the lesson, what performance level is required of them, and how it can be achieved. Here are a few examples:

- Teach pupils to understand the following words ... when hearing and to use them in sentences orally.

- Teach pupils to form new words with the help of the following suffixes ... and to use them in the situations, given.

- Teach pupils to consult a dictionary to look up the meaning of the following words ....

- Teach pupils to recognize the international words ... when hearing (or reading).

- Teach pupils to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words from the context while reading text “...”.

- Teach pupils to understand the statements in the Present Perfect and to use them in the following situations

- Teach pupils to ask and answer questions in the Present Perfect and to make up dialogues following the models

- Teach pupils to find the logical predicate in the sentences ... while reading following the structural signals.

- Teach pupils to speak about the following objects on utterance level (in a few sentences).

- Teach pupils to use the words and grammar covered in speaking about the places of interest in our town.

- Teach pupils to find topical sentences while reading text “...” silently.

- Teach pupils to get the main information while reading text “...”.

- Teach pupils to write an annotation on text “...”.

- Check pupils' skill in reading and understanding an unfamiliar text using a dictionary.

- Check pupils' ability in using the words covered in the following situations ....

The teacher can state no more than three concrete objectives for a particular class-period depending on the stage of instruction, the material of the lesson, and some other factors.

2. The teacher distributes the linguistic material (sounds, words, grammar, etc.) throughout the class-periods according to the objectives of each period, trying to teach new vocabulary on the grammatical material familiar to pupils, and to teach a new grammar item within the vocabulary assimilated by pupils; or he first teaches pupils hearing and speaking on the new material presented, and then pupils use this in reading and writing.

3. The teacher selects and distributes exercises for class and homework using various teaching aids and teaching materials depending on the objectives of each class-period. For example, for developing his pupils' skill in dialogic speech within the material covered the teacher needs- a record with a pattern dialogue, word cards for changing the semantic-meaning of the pattern dialogue to make the structure of the dialogue fit new situations.

In distributing exercises throughout the class-periods the teacher should involve his pupils in oral practice and speech, in oral and silent reading, and in writing. Exercises which are difficult for pupils should be done under the teacher's supervision, i. e., in class. Those exercises which pupils can easily perform independently are left for homework. In other words, new techniques, exercises, and skills should be practised in class before the pupil attempts them at home. The homework done, the pupils return to class for perfecting, polishing, expanding, and varying what they have practised at home, they learn to use the new words, the new structures in varied situations.

When the teacher determines the pupil's homework he should take into account that the subject he is teaching though important and difficult is not the only one the pupil learns at school. The realities of schools militate against more than 20 - 30 minutes of everyday homework in a foreign language. This requires the teacher to teach in class rather than test. Practice proves that pupils do their homework provided they know exactly what to do, how it should be done, and that their work will be evaluated. Besides, pupils should know that six twenty-minutes' work at their English on consecutive days is more effective than two hours at a stretch.

The unit plan, therefore, involves everything the teacher needs for the detailed planning of a lesson (class-period), namely: the objective (objectives) of each lesson, the material to work at, and the exercises which should be done both during the class-period and at home to develop pupils' habits and skills in the target language.

All this should be done by the teacher if there are no teacher's books (guides) to the textbooks, for example, if he works in a specialized or an evening school. If there are such books, the teacher's planning should deal with (1) the study of the author's recommendations and tabling the material so that he can see how hearing, speaking, reading, and writing should be developed, and (2) the development of these recommendations according to his pupils' abilities.

The teacher starts by studying the authors' recommendations. He takes the textbook and the teacher's guide and table the material. Let us take Lesson 22, Fifth Form English by S. K. Folomkina and E. I. Kaar for illustration.

The unit plan includes nine columns:

1.The number of class-periods. The authors plan four periods for Lesson 22.

2. The objectives of each period.

3. Language material. By language material we mean words, word combinations, phrases, and sentence patterns. In Lesson 22 there are six new words (April, May, June, speak, learn, chess), four word combinations (in the evening, that's right, that's not right, go swimming), and the following sentence patterns: Where do you go ...? Where does he (she) go ...? When do you go? When does he (she) go ...? What do you do? What does he (she) do ...? I can't read English. I can't (don't) skate either.

4 - 7. Language skills. In developing each language skill the authors observe the main didactic principles. For instance, they develop pupils' speaking (monologue) gradually, starting with the sentence level (1st period), then passing to the utterance level (2nd period), and finally, to the speech level both prepared (3rd period) and unprepared (4th period) within the material covered. Pupils develop writing habits and skills independently at home. They write only once in class; it is a dictation drill,

8. Accessories. While working at Lesson 22 the authors propose to use records twice (2nd and 3rd periods) for developing listening comprehension.

9. Homework. The authors plan pupils' independent work at home after every class-period. It is connected mainly with copying and writing. (By the latter we mean creative work on the part of the learner as in exercise 5: What your friend does at the English lesson? Write five sentences.) Besides, pupils read what they have read in class.

If we fill in all the columns of the table, we can see that Lesson 22 was well compiled. This allows the teacher to enrich pupils' knowledge and develop habits and skills in the target language. It also shows that recommendations given in the teacher's guide can ensure the gradual development of pupils' skills in speaking and reading and, therefore, their progress in language learning.

The teacher tries to adapt the unit plan to his pupils. He may either take it as it is and strictly follow the authors' recommendations, or he may change it a bit. For instance, if he has a group of bright pupils who can easily assimilate the material, the teacher may include some additional material or stimuli (pictures or objects) for the pupils' use in speaking within the same four class-periods. This can be shown in column “Accessories”. If the teacher has a group of slow pupils, he needs at least one more period to cover the material, since special questions with do, does are difficult for his pupils, he may use writing during the lesson and make pupils write down the questions in their exercise-books. Writing may help them in keeping the words and sentence patterns in memory. He may also increase the number of oral drill exercises and give pupils special cards to work on individually and in pairs. Thus the teacher includes word and sentence cards in column “Accessories”.

The importance of unit plans cannot be overestimated since unit planning permits the teacher to direct the development of all language skills on the basis of the new linguistic material the lesson involves. He can lead his pupils from reception through pattern practice to creative exercises, and in this way perfect their proficiency in hearing, speaking, reading, and writing. He can vary teaching aids and teaching materials within the class-periods allotted to the lesson. Unit planning allows the teacher to concentrate pupils' attention on one or two language skills during the lesson; in this case the class hour is divided into two main parts: a period of 20 - 25 minutes, during which he takes his pupils through a series of structural drills or other exercises supplied by the textbook, and a period of 20 - 25 minutes during which the teacher engages the class in creative exercises 218 when they use the target language as a means of communication. The teacher should bear in mind that pupils lose all interest in a language that is presented to them by means of endless repetitions, pattern practices, substitutions, and so on, and which they cannot use in its main function of exchange of information through hearing or reading. That is why, whenever possible, the teacher should make his pupils aware of the immediate values of his lessons if he hopes to keep and stimulate their interest in language learning which is very important in itself. When a pupil is convinced that learning is vital, he is usually willing to work hard to acquire a good knowledge of the target language. It is well known that some pupils see little value in much of their school work in a foreign language and feel no enthusiasm for their work at the language. Careful unit planning helps the teacher to keep pupils' progress in language learning under constant control and use teaching aids and teaching materials more effectively and, in this way, make his classes worthwhile to all of his pupils.

Planning a class-period

The unit plan completed the teacher may more into planning a class-period or a daily plan which, in addition to what has been determined by the unit plan, indicates the ways the teacher will follow to organize his class to work during the lesson. Therefore the daily plan includes (1) what should be achieved during this particular lesson, (2) what material is used for achieving the objectives, and (3) how the objectives should be achieved.

Since almost every teacher has several classes of one level he usually makes preparations for each level although, ideally, a separate plan is needed for each class because classes proceeded at different speed, thus he must make adaptations in his plans to compensate for varying speeds of progress in the classes of the same level.

The teacher should write his daily plans if he strives for effective and reasonable use of time allotted to his pupils' learning a foreign language. However some teachers, including novice teachers, do not prepare written plans. They claim that they can teach “off the top of their heads”, and they really can, but their teaching usually results in poor pupils' language skills because in this case we have “teacher-dominated” classes when the teacher works hard during the lesson while his pupils remain mere “observes” of the procedure. Indeed, when the teacher is standing in front of pupils he does not have much time to think how to organize his pupils' activity. This should be done before the lesson for the teacher to be able to stimulate and direct pupils' learning the language. We may state that the effectiveness of pupils desired learning is fully dependent on the teacher's preparation for the lessons. If the teacher is talking, reading, and writing a great deal himself during the lesson, he is not ready for it. And vice versa, if the teacher gets his pupils to talk or read with communicative assignments while he listens, or to write while he moves about the class, giving a helping hand to every one who needs it, he has thoroughly thought over the plan of the lesson beforehand. Therefore we may conclude: to provide necessary conditions for pupils' learning a foreign language, the teacher should thoroughly plan their work during the lesson which is possible if he writes his daily plan in advance.

There are teachers who strictly follow the textbook and accept plans that others have made for them without any changing. In doing this they overlook the unique capacities of their particular classes. They race through the textbook covering the ground regardless of whether pupils master each section.

Some experienced teachers assume that the content of foreign language teaching is constant and as they have worked for many years they do not need daily plans; they have them in their minds. In reality, however, the content changes continuously as well as the methods and techniques of teaching. Moreover, the old plans which are in their minds may not suit the needs of a particular class, since each group of pupils is unique, or they may no longer be applicable because better and more effective teaching aids and teaching materials have appeared. Consequently, proceeding from these considerations the teacher needs a daily plan to provide a high level of language learning of his pupils.

One lesson may require a detailed plan; for another lesson a brief outline will suffice. In any case, a workable form for a daily plan should state the objectives, specify the activities (oral practice, reading, writing, etc.), include evaluation techniques, indicate the assignment, and determine teaching aids and teaching materials. The plan itself should (1) be brief, but with sufficient detail to be precise; (2) assign a definite number of minutes to each activity; (3) indicate exactly what words, phrases, facts, items are to be learnt and how; (4) make use of variety of classroom activity for every pupil.

In the organization and conduct of a foreign language lesson there is always a wide range of possibilities. No two teachers will treat the same topic in the same way. There are, however, certain basic principles of teaching and learning, which should be observed:

1. Every lesson should begin with a greeting in the foreign language and a brief talk between the teacher and the pupils. Through this conversation the lesson may be motivated. The conversation may take place between:

Teacher - Class

Teacher - Pupil on duty

Pupil on duty - Class

Two Pupils on duty

The foreign language should be used for all common classroom activities; the teacher manages the class activities by giving directions in the foreign language. He stimulates pupils' participation by asking questions, praises and encourages pupils from time to time, and he may also criticize the behavior of a pupil or a class.

2. There should be a variety of activities at every lesson, including pronunciation drill, oral activities, reading and writing. The success of activity is measured by attention, enthusiasm, and involvement on the part of the pupils.

3. The lesson should be conducted at a high speed when oral drill exercises are performed. Pupils should not stand up to say a word, a phrase, or a sentence.

4. The lesson should provide a certain sequence in pupils' assimilating language material and developing habits and skills from perception, comprehension, and memorizing, through the usage in a similar situation following a model, to the usage of the material received in new situations that require thinking on the part of the learner.

5. The lesson should provide time for the activity of every pupil in the class. They must be active participants of the procedure and not the teacher as is often the case when the teacher talks more than all the pupils.

6. The lesson should provide conditions for pupils to learn. “Language is a skill so it must be learnt, it cannot be taught” (M. West). A certain amount of time should be devoted to seatwork as opposed to activities involving the class as a whole. During seatwork and other forms of solitary study pupils learn to learn for themselves. The use of language laboratories, teaching machines, and programmed instruction creates necessary conditions for each pupil to learn for himself.

7. The work done during the lesson should prepare pupils for their independent work at home. It is generally accepted as good practice not to assign exercises that have not been covered in class; this especially refers to early stages of language learning.

8. The lesson should be well equipped with teaching aids and teaching materials which allow the teacher to create natural situations for developing pupils' hearing and speaking skills in a foreign language.

Lecture 6

Aims of teaching

Plan:

Aims of teaching

Practical aims

Educational aims

Cultural aims

Content of foreign language teaching

Aims are the first and most important consideration in any teaching.

“Процесс обучения представляет собой переход учащихся из одного состояния в другое... Задачи обучения состоят в том, чтобы переместить обучающихся из их начального состояния в определенное состояние (или, точнее, во множество состояний), означающее наличие у них определенных знаний, навыков и умений”.

Hence the teacher should know exactly what his pupils are expected to achieve in learning his subject, what changes he can bring about in his pupils at the end of the course, at the end of the year, term, month, week, and each particular lesson, i. e., he should know the aims and objectives of foreign language teaching in schools.

The terms “aims” and “objectives” are clearly distinguished in this work in accordance with the suggestion given by R. Roberts. Here is what he writes: "The term “aims” be reserved for long-term goals such as provide the justification or reason for teaching second languages ... the term “objectives” be used only for short-term goals (immediate lesson goal), such as may reasonably be achieved in a classroom lesson or sequence of lessons. In this chapter we shall deal with long-term goals, that is, with the aims of foreign language teaching which dictate the teacher's approach to this subject.

The changes the teacher must bring about in his pupils may be threefold: practical - pupils acquire habits - and skills in using a foreign language; educational - they develop their mental abilities and intelligence in the process of learning the foreign language; cultural - pupils extend their knowledge of the world in which they live. Therefore there are three aims, at least, which should be achieved in foreign language teaching: practical, educational, and cultural.

Practical aims. The foreign language as a school subject differs from other subjects of the school curriculum. Whereas the teaching, for instance, of history is mostly connected with the imparting of historical laws and facts which pupils are to learn and the teaching of the mother tongue leads to the mastery of the language as a system (which is already used for exchanging thoughts and feelings) so that pupils will be able to use it more effectively in oral and written language, the teaching of a foreign language should result in the pupil's gaining one more code for receiving and conveying information; that is, in acquiring a second language for the same purpose as the native language: to use it as a means of communication. In this connection we should like to quote G. Perren : “Whatever a new language is being taught as a curricular extra ... or as an essential medium for education it will be learned by the young child only if it obviously makes-possible some purposeful activity other than language learning. If it does not do this, attempts to teach it may be largely a waste of time”.

In modern society language is used in two ways: directly or orally, and. indirectly or in written form. Thus we distinguish oral language and written language. Direct communication implies a speaker and a hearer, indirect communication implies a writer and a reader. Hence the practical aims in teaching a foreign language are four in number: hearing, speaking, reading, and writing.

When adopting the practical aims for a secondary school course the following factors are usually taken into consideration: the economic and political conditions of society, the requirements of the state; the general goals of secondary school education; the nature of the subject, and the conditions for instruction.

The Soviet Union is establishing closer economic, political, scientific, and cultural relations with various peoples of the world. International relations are extended and strengthened through the exchange of delegations as well as scientific, technical, and cultural information. The peoples of the Soviet Union want to know what is going on in the world in all spheres of human activity: science, engineering, culture, politics, etc. They also want to acquaint other peoples with their life and achievements. In this situation foreign language teaching is a matter of state significance. The Council of Ministers of the USSR in its decision “On Improving Foreign Language Learning” has obliged educational boards to ensure that school-leavers master a foreign language as a means of communication in its two forms - oral and written, therefore, proficiency in speaking and reading are the desired skills. They are both of great importance, since oral language, though opportunities for conversation are rare for most of the school-leavers, creates favourable conditions for language learning. Besides, practical aims as they are understood here; correspond to the idea of secondary school education - to provide pupils with the fundamentals of the subject. Hearing, speaking, reading, and writing within carefully selected linguistic material will constitute the fundamentals of the language.

The nature of the language should also be taken into consideration in determining the aims of language teaching. Learning a living language implies using the language of sounds that is, speaking. Scientific research gives a more profound insight into the problem. It is not so much the ability to speak that is meant here but rather the oral treatment; in other words, the language of sounds, not of graphic signs (which is usually the case when a dead language is studied) should serve as basic means of teaching.

The length of the course, the frequency of the lessons, the size of groups should also be taken into consideration in adopting practical aims. The amount of time for language learning is one of the most decisive factors in mastering and maintaining language proficiency since learners need practice. The more time is available for pupils' practice in the target language, the better results can be achieved. Moreover, for the formation of speech habits frequency of lessons is a more essential condition than the length of the course. It is not necessary to prove (it has already been proved) that intensive courses are more effective than extensive ones, for example, six periods a week for three years are more effective for language learning than three periods a week for six years. In our secondary schools, however, we cannot afford an intensive course because school curriculum includes a lot of essential

subjects and the foreign language is one of many which should be taught. The time which can be allotted to foreign language learning is distributed throughout the six years with the following frequency of lessons: V - 4; VI-VII - 3; VII 1-Х - 2 periods a week. As to the size of groups, large forms are divided into two groups for foreign language lessons so that a group should not exceed 20-25 pupils. Proceeding from these considerations the school syllabus emphasizes reading and speaking as the chief practical aims of language teaching. Writing is restricted to teaching the ability to compose simple letters on everyday topics. Thus the syllabus sets out to teach pupils to carry on a conversation in a foreign language and to read texts with complete comprehension.

The syllabus for the eight-year school concentrates on the development of speech proficiency. Pupils should be able:

1 - to give a short talk and carry on a conversation on the topics included in the programme;

2 - to read without a dictionary texts containing familiar grammar material and no more than 4-6 unfamiliar words (per 100 words) the meaning of which, as a rule, should be clear from the context or due to familiar word-building elements.

The syllabus for the ten-year school requires that school-leavers should:

1 - read and understand a foreign text both with and without a dictionary;

2 - understand oral language arid speak within the topics and material required by the syllabus;

3 - write a letter.

In foreign language learning all forms of work must be in close interrelation, otherwise it is impossible to master the language. However, attention should be given mainly to practice in hearing, speaking, and reading. Thus pupils must achieve a level in their knowledge of the language which will enable them to further develop it at an institute or in their practical work.

At the present time, however, foreign language teaching in school does not quite meet the demands of our society; better results are desirable. In this connection we should welcome O. I. Moskalskaya's proposal to investigate the aims of foreign language teaching to be able to establish what can really be achieved under school conditions.

In conclusion it should be said that the achievement of practical aims in foreign language teaching makes possible the achievement of educational and cultural aims.

Educational aims. Learning a second language is of great educational value. Through a new language we can gain an insight into the way in which words express thoughts, and so achieve greater clarity and precision in our own communications. Even at the most elementary level learning a second language teaches the cognizance of meaning, furnishes a term of comparison that gives us an insight" into the quality of language. When learning a foreign language the pupil understands better how language functions and this brings him to a greater awareness of the functioning of his own language.

Since language is connected with thinking, through foreign language study we can develop the pupil's intellect. Teaching a foreign language helps the teacher develop the pupils' voluntary and involuntary memory, his imaginative abilities, and will power. Indeed, in learning a new language the pupil should memorize words, idioms, sentence patterns, structures, and keep them in long-term memory ready to be used whenever he needs them in auding, speaking, reading, and writing. Teaching a foreign language under conditions when this is the only foreign language environment, is practically impossible without appealing to pupils' imagination. The lack of real communication forces the teacher to create imaginary situations for pupils, to speak about making each pupil determine his language behaviour as if he were in such situations.

Teaching a foreign language contributes to the linguistic education of the pupil, the latter extends his knowledge of phonic, graphic, structural, and semantic aspects of language as it is through contrastive analysis of language phenomena.

Cultural aims. Learning a foreign language makes the pupil acquainted with the life, customs and traditions of the people whose language he studies through visual material (such as post cards with the views of towns, countryside, and people; filmstrips, for example, “Great Britain”, “What Tourists Can See in London”, “Disney Land” films) and reading material dealing with the countries where the target language is spoken. Foreign language teaching should promote pupils' general educational and cultural growth by increasing their knowledge about foreign countries, and by acquainting them with progressive traditions of the people whose language they study- Through learning a second language the pupil gains a deeper insight into the nature and functioning of language as a social phenomenon.

In conclusion it should be said that practical, educational, and cultural aims are intimately related and form an inseparable unity. The leading role belongs to practical aims, for the others can only be achieved through the practical command of the foreign language.

CONTENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING

The content of foreign language teaching or what to teach is one of the main problems the Methods deals with. In this chapter an attempt is made to touch on the chief components which, we think, should constitute the content of foreign language teaching in schools; a more detailed consideration will be given in appropriate chapters dealing with teaching various aspects of the language and language skills.

The first component of “what to teach” is habits and skills which pupils should acquire while learning a foreign language. According to the aims of learning this subject they are: hearing (listening comprehension), speaking, reading, and writing. The level of habits and skills is determined by the syllabus for each form. However, quantitative and qualitative characteristics of skills, or the so-called terminal behaviour, are not defined yet for different types of schools and stages of instruction. This is one of the problems for methodologists to investigate and solve. Nevertheless, some attempts have been made in this respect. Thus in school syllabi we can find some directions as to the level of skills that should be reached in each particular form and their development from form to form. For example, the requirements for hearing and reading skills differ in the 9th and 10th forms. In the 9th form pupils should be able to understand oral language on the basis of the material previously learned and within the topics covered, while in the 10th form the material for hearing should include 1-2 unfamiliar words for pupils to guess their meaning, and to understand a text received by ear, based on the material learned and on a topic close to those pupils have worked at. This is a new “qualitative step” for pupils in understanding oral language. If in the 9th form pupils should read with the speed of 1 000 signs per academic hour, in the 10th form the speed of reading is 1 300.

The second component of “what to teach” is language (textual) material, arranged in topics and serving as starting points for the development of oral language and written language, which allows the teacher to reach the practical, educational, and cultural aims set by the syllabus. For example, in the junior stage (the 5th and 6th forms) pupils should speak and read about school, home, town and countryside, nature, physical training and sports. In the senior stage the textual material should cover the following topics: the life of the youth in the USSR and abroad; sport in the USSR and abroad; industry, agriculture, and science in the USSR and abroad; history and geography of the country whose language pupils study, art and literature in the USSR and abroad. Topics for speaking and reading are developed from form to form, i. e., the pupil's ability to read and speak on a certain topic is widened as his vocabulary and grammar is enriched.

The third component of the content of foreign language teaching is linguistic material, i. e., phonology, grammar, and vocabulary carefully selected for the purpose. The selection of linguistic material, the compiling of the so-called minima, for instance, minimum vocabulary and minimum grammar, has always been one of the most important and difficult problems to be solved and, although a great deal of work has been done in this respect, we are still on the way to its solution. A limited body of linguistic material is required by pupils who have about 600 class hours at their disposal spread over six years (extensive course), and at the same time it must be large enough to serve as a sound basis for developing pupils' language skills.

To sum up what has been said above, the content of foreign language teaching involves:

1 - language skills: hearing, speaking, reading, and writing;

2 - language (textual) material;

3 - linguistic material; vocabulary; grammar, phonological minima.

In conclusion it should be said that the content of teaching in our schools is laid down in the syllabus and realized in teaching materials and in the teacher's own speech.

Lecture 7

Principles of foreign language teaching

Plan:

Principles of foreign language teaching:

1 - scientific approach

2 - of consciousness

3 - of educative instructions

4 - of activity

5 - of visuality

6 - of consecutiveness

7 - of systematicness

8 - of accessibility

9 - of durability

10 - of individualization

Methods of foreign language teaching are based on the fundamental principles of didactics; among them, a conscious approach to language learning, activity, visualization, and others. However, in foreign language teaching, due to the specific features of the subject in which means and ends are equally essential, these principles are used in a particular way.

Principle of:

1 - scientific approach

2 - of consciousness

3 - of educative instructions

4 - of activity

5 - of visuality

6 - of consecutiveness

7 - of systematicness

8 - of accessibility

9 - of durability

10 - of individualization

1) of Scientific Approach.

This principle implies careful determination of what and how to teach to achieve the aims set by the syllabus. The texts in the textbook & for supplementary reading, the sentences in exercises must be meaningful & of educative value. In selecting or composing the material the teacher should be thoughtful & remember to strengthen the connection between the instruction & life.(e.g. Theme “Family”- Have you a brother?/Have you a father? Don't demand positive answer if he/she doesn't have him)

2) of Educative Instructions.

Not to teach only the subject but to treat his/her learner as a person. To help learners to develop themselves as people, their personalities & to encourage their positive feelings. The teacher provides a number of activities to make learners feel good & remember happy times & events.

3) of Consciousness.

To make a distinguish between acquisition and learning consciously. The acquisition is a subconscious process which results in the knowledge of a language whereas the learning results in “knowing about” the language. Acquiring a language is more successful and longer lasting than learning. A child becomes competent user of native language by acquiring. Children hear and experience a considerable amount of the language in situation, in communication with adults. It happens as a result of the input they receive and the experience which accompany this input. So the learners' input should contain language of a slightly higher level than they are able to produce but they are able to understand. Krashen compared it to the way adults speak to children; they tend to simplify the language as foreigners do. According to Krashen students can acquire the language on their own respect when they get a great deal of comprehensible input. In conscious learning students receive precisely selected structures & learning tasks that were carefully worked out by the teacher (monitor).

Experience of the British linguist Allwright at the University of Essex. “If the language teacher's management activities are directed exclusively at involving the learners in solving communication problems in the target language then the language learning will take care of itself”. There is no need for formal instructions (e.g. grammatical point); instead students are asked to perform communicative activity in FL.

Experience of the Indian teacher Prabhu. Tasks with problem solving element on the basis of the given model (dialogues, cue-cards).