Language Teaching Principles
According to Nation & Macalister (2009, pp. 77-78), when
designing a language teaching curriculum, principles that are based on research
and theory should be addressed and “general enough to allow variety and flexibility
in their application to suit the wide range of conditions in which language is
taught.” Nation & Macalister (2009) suggest twenty principles of language
learning.
These principles were based on research and theory and were from a pedagogical approach to allow for variety and flexibility.
According to Nation & Macalister (2009, pp 67-68), “one of the values in using a principle-based approach to language teaching is that developments in theory and research can be easily accommodated by altering, expanding, removing or adding a principle without having to discard all the other principles.”
Nation & Macalister (2009) divided these principles into three groups.
The first group of principles applied to content and sequencing. This includes eight features including frequency and strategies and autonomy. According to Nation & Macalister (2009, p. 38)), " a language course should provide the best possible coverage of language in use through the inclusion of items that occur frequently in the language, so that learners get the best return for their learning effort" Low frequency items are taught once high frequency language have been learnt. Learners should also according to Nation & Macalister (2009), be taught skills on learner autonomy such as setting goals and reflecting on their learning. Students need to be tested frequently on their learning and repetition of required items conducted. According to Nation & Macalister (2009), regular features of the language such as the vocabulary, structure and discourse should be focused on and then applied in different contexts.
The language items need to be taught when the learners are ready. According to Nation & Macalister
(2009, p. 46) teaching is effective “if it occurs when learners are at the
stage to learn the particular item which is being taught.” To help with
building connections, the sequence for teaching items can be based on using the
order language items occur when speaking and writing. To avoid interference between
items Nation & Macalister (2009, p. 49) suggests “ if two items have some
similarities in meaning or in form and yet are different in some ways from each
other, and are presented for learning at the same time, the similarities
between them will encourage their association and the differences between them will
interfere with each other.” The course should use the learner’s previous knowledge,
including using their first language. According to Nation & Macalister
(2009, p. 47), the first language can help “at all levels within the language,
with pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and discourse”, but particularly with
vocabulary.
The second group of principles applied to format and presentation and included ten principles. These principles included motivation and the importance of using four strands of activities including, according to Nation & Macalister (2009, p. 39), "a roughly even balance of meaning-focused input, language-focused learning, meaning-focused output and fluency activities." The learners need to be motivated to learn. According to Nation & Macalister (2009) the teacher needs to make the content relevant and interesting to the learner. They need to be given some control over what they are learning and set tasks with clear achievable and outcomes. Learners should have opportunities to read and listen to interesting texts and the correct level for pleasure such as listening to the teacher reading a big book. The teacher can focus on the vocabulary in the text and provide meaning. Fluency activities for known vocabulary, also aids in comprehension. According to Nation & Macalister (2009) the 4/3/2 technique can be used to help with fluency whereby by students work in pairs, one is the speaker and the other the listener.
Learners should be given the opportunity to produce language as well, through speaking and writing where according to Swain (1985, in Nation & Macalaster, 2009, p. 57) learners move “from a purely semantic analysis of the language to a syntactic analysis of it.” Language focused learning of vocabulary, grammar and discourse supports meaning-focused learning. Activities such as dictation, learning vocabulary on cards and re-arranging words in sentences in the right order helps create meaning for the student. The importance of using the L2 language and relating items to past experiences is also recognised in Nation & Macalister's (2009) twenty principles.
Dornyei (2001, in Nation & Macalister, 2009, p. 63), suggested a way that teachers can motivate students, containing the four principals in Figure 4.2.
Students should be given activities that suit their
individual learning style. As Nation & Macalister (2009, p. 64) state, “ an
effectively designed language course allows for these individual differences
and provides choices and flexibility in the way activities can be done.” The
choices can include group size, speed, the medium and use of first language. The tasks can be either teacher planned or through negotiation.
The third group of principles according to Nation & Macalister (2009) applied to monitoring and
assessment. According to Nation & Macalister (2009, p. 39), this invloves ongoing needs and environment analysis where "the selection, ordering, presentation, and assessment of the material in a language course should be based on a continuing carefule consideration of the learners and their needs, the teaching conditions, and the time and resources available." Learners should also be given helpful and positive feedback
and monitor their own learning.
These principles can be used to help design a language course. It can be altered as theory and research provides new information on language learning.
Nation, I.S., & Macalister, J. (2009). Language curriculum design. Routledge.
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