This book offers a comprehensive account of various aspects of the teachings of English as a second/foreign language in India and abroad. It explains how the knowledge of English is a must in a globalized world. India needs English to communicate internally across linguistically organized states. English is essential for higher studies in science, technology and even humanities and social studies. It is imperative to recognize the centrality of English ‘in the curriculum’ and in the training of teachers- trainees.
The book gives a balanced account of various approaches – psychological, philosophical and linguistic – to make the trainees aware of teaching methods – structural and developmental (generative). It shows the subtle difference between the approaches of Noam Chomsky, Piaget and Vygotsky and prefers an eclectic approach. It explores how urgent is fundaments of four language skills—listening, speaking, reading and writing and points out how they can be fruitfully used not only while reading literature but also non-literary texts. It argues why personal and institutional needs of the trainees must be kept in view. While teaching these skills; teachers should use the most recent teaching aids—manual as well as mechanical (electronic). The teacher-trainees must be aware of the new principles of lesson planning and evaluation of the achievement of the trainers. The book includes their models to enable them to appreciate the practical steps they are supposed to have.
The book may be useful for students, teachers, teacher-educators and researchers in the subject.
Anjani Kumar Sinha, (Ph.D. from University of Chicago) is a former Professor and Head of Department of Linguistics at the University of Delhi. He was trained in ELT at the CIE (now English and Foreign Languages University), Hyderabad. He has a wide range experience of teaching English as a second /foreign language in various Universities in India and Yemen as a Visiting Professor and has published several papers in India and abroad. His recent publications are Empowering Communication Skills (Shipra, 2015) and Elementary English Teaching (Shipra, 2016).
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Unit I. Background Perspective
1. Nature and Role of Language
Language—Tool of Human Communication; Verbal Vs. Non-verbal Communication; Sign Language; Human Language vs. Animal Communication; Language and Dialects; Languages and Script; Language and Society; Language and Identity; Language and Nationality; Language and Power; Language and Gender
2. Multilingualism and Language Teaching in Schools
Multilingualism: Its nature and scope; Multilingualism as a Resource and a Strategy ; Multilingualism and Curriculum Transaction; Patterns in United States of America and Canada ; Bilingualism in Border Areas of Indian States ; Hierarchical Status of Indian Languages; Home Language and School Language; Language as a School Subject and as a Medium of Instruction; Centrality of Language in Curriculum; Qualities and Competence of Teachers in Multilingual Classrooms
3. Expansion of English as a World Language
The Knowledge of a Language; The Knowledge of Two or More Languages; Expansion of English as the Mother Tongue; English as a Second Language; English as a Foreign Language; Varieties of English; Globalisation of English; English as the Official Language
4. Factors that Influence Second/Foreign Language Learning
Personal Perspective; Aptitude and Intelligence; Attitude and Motivation; Needs; Social Perspective; The Influence of the Second Language; Teacher; Peer Group; The School Environment
Unit 2
5. English in Colonial and Independent India: Constitutional Positions and Policies
The Colonial Era; The Post-Independence Era; Constituent Assembly Debate on Language; Place of Languages in Indian Constitution; University Education Commission (1948-1444); Programme of Action (POA) 1992; National Curriculum Framework (2005)
Unit 3. Language Teaching: An Overview
6. Western and Indian Perspectives on Second Language Acquisition
Philosophical Perspective; Psychological Perspective; Cognitive Approach of Noam Chomsky; Cognitive Psychology
(Developmental Psycholinguistics); The Critical Period Hypothesis; Nature-Nurture Controversy; Internal Factors; Jean Piaget’s Developmental Approach; Functionalism of Lev Semenovich Vygotsky; Connectionism; Sociological Approach; Variationist Approach; Gender Bias and Feminist Approach; Pragmatic Approach; Modern Indian Thinkers on Education and Language Teaching
7. Teaching English as a Second Language: Various Methods
System, Method, Approach, Strategy, Design and Technique; Teaching a Second Language in Ancient India; Teaching English to Immigrants in the UK; Miller’s Book on Teaching English to Bengalis; Grammar-Translation Method; The Rational Movement; The Mastery System; The Reform Movement; Natural Method; The Direct Method; The Audio-lingual Method; The Audio-visual Method; The Structural Approach; The Situational Approach; Bilingualism and the Growth of West’s New Method; The Cognitive Transformational Method; Communicative Competence Approach; Discourse Analysis; Socio-cultural Approach; The Total Physical Response (TPR) Approach; The Silent Way; The Programmed Instruction (PI); Suggestopedia; Immersion Language Teaching; Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL); The Whole Language Approach; The Task-Based Approach; Key Issues; Bilingual vs. Monolingual Approach
Unit 4
8. The Linguistic System
Features of language; Structures of Language; Language as a Rule-governed Behaviour; Linguistic Variability; The pedagogical Implication of Variation; Variation in Indian English; Linguistic System; The Organisation of Sounds; Universal Grammar; From Sound to Meaning
Unit 5. Developing Language Skills
9. Perspective on Teaching Grammar
Prescriptive Grammar; Descriptive Grammar; Table showing Identical Structures; Generative Grammar; Various Ways of Expressing the Same Thought; Some Topics that Need to be Focussed; Question Formation; Agreement between Subject and Verb; Verb Phrase; Grammar in Context; Word Order; Teaching Grammar to the Learners of English as L2; How to Handle the Teaching of Grammar
10. Contrastive Analysis: Structural and Generative Approaches
11. Error Analysis
The Structuralist Approach; The Generative-Transformational Approach; Global and Local Errors; Modern Usage; Interlanguage; Fossilization
12. Helping Learners to Enrich Their Vocabulary
Vocabulary; Various Types of VocabularY; What Vocabulary to Learn; Synonyms; Antonyms; Derivations; Appropriate Collocational Links; Phrasal Verbs; One Word for a Long Expression; Word Meaning; Homophones; Ways to Increase One’s Vocabulary; Furniture; Understanding the Meaning of Words; Encyclopaedia; Use of Cards; Archaic Words
13. Teaching Listening: Issues and Strategies
Listening in a Normal Environment; Types of Listening; Process of Listening; Improving Listening Skills for English as a Second Language; Prominence of a Syllable in a Word; The Purpose of Listening; Listening Strategies; Methods Adopted by Teachers; Factors that Affect Listening; Role of Language Laboratory; Measures to Improve Listening; Training to Listen in a Graded Manner; Listening Problems of School Children; Radio and Television Programmes; Significance of Listening; Do’s and Dont’s on Listening
14. Teaching Spoken English
Speaking Casual/Formal English; Speaking English as a Second Language in the Classroom Environment; Correct Pronunciation; Consonants; Vowels; Prominence and Stress; Intonation; Coordination of Listening and Speaking; Sentences as the Starting Point of Speaking-Listening Activity; Stages of Development of Speaking Ability
15. Exploring Reading: Processes and Strategies
Process and Strategies; Learning to Read the Mother tongue; Reading the Second Language ; Letter-Sound Correlation in English Consonants; Reading for Comprehension; Reading Speed; First Language Versus Second Language Reading; Role of Vocabulary in Reading Development; Three Approaches to Reading; Improving Reading Speed; Reading Strategies; How to Speed Up Reading?; Processing Sentences; Cultural Predictability; Stages of Development of Reading Habit; Goals of Story Telling; Stages of Growth in Literary Appreciation; Intensive Reading; Written Evaluation
16. The Dynamics of Writing
Speaking vs. Writing; Spelling and Pronunciation; Use of Dictionary; Steps in the Growth of Writing Skill; Writing a Piece of Composition; Writing Strategies; Main Approaches; Letter-Writing; Book Review; Dialogue; Speeches; Diary; Transactional Writings; Advertisements; Charts and Diagrams; Good and Bad Composition; Difference between the Composition of L1 and L2 Writers of English
Unit 6. Language, Literature and Aesthetics
17. Different Creative Forms of Language
What is Literature?, Literature in the School Curriculum; Need for Literature in the School Curriculum; Objectives of Studying Literature; Literature and Media; Creative Writings; Conveying Shared Experiences; Relevance of the Text; The Speaker and the Situation; Attitude; Theme/Thesis; Structure and Texture; Plot; Modes of Literature; Translation as a Creative Activity; Literal Translation; Translation by V.K. Kiernan; Translation by David Matthews; Sarvat Rahman’s Translation; Need for Translation; Variety of English Literature; Contemporary Creative Writings in Indian English: Poetry; Fiction; Drama; Miscellaneous Literature; English Translation of Contemporary Indian Literature
18. Understanding Different Forms of Literature
(i) Poetry; Rhyme and Rhythm; Sound in Poetry; Imagery; Narrative; Plot; Presenting the Theme; (II) Fiction; The Study of Short Story; Method of Presentation; (iii) The Study of Drama; The Scope of Drama; Discourse: Turn-Taking; Dialogues and Cooperative Principles of Conversation; The Style of Dialogue; Classroom Presentation; (iv) Other Literary Forms; Autobiographical Pieces; Travelogue; Hobby; Popular Culture; Other Topics; Effective and Critical Thinking; How a Hypothesis is made; Evaluative Writings; Arguments: Inductive or Deductive; Defective Arguments; Non-literary Writings
Unit 7. Syllabus and Textual Materials
19. Development and Analysis of Syllabus and Textual Materials
Curriculum and Syllabus; Connecting the Knowledge of English to the World Outside; Curriculum Procedure; Textbook Materials; Learner-Chosen Texts; Multilingualism in the English Class
20. Development of Textual Material: Planning the Teaching of English
Unit Planning; Specific Objectives; Sequential Planning; Planning Communicative English Teaching; Lesson Planning: Samples; Planning the Reading of a Poem; Planning the Reading of a fiction; Planning the Reading of a Drama; Planning the Reading of a Supplementary Lesson; Planning the Learning of Grammar; Planning Paragraph-Writing
Unit 8. Planning Learning and Teaching
21. Dramatization and Other Modes of Language Representation
Choral Reading; Saying and Doing; Dialogue; Dramatization; Puppets, Marionettes, Pantomimes and Shadow Plays; Felt Board and Felt Cutouts; Reading a Text; Intensive (Close) Reading; Extensive (Wide) Reading; Comprehensible Input; Expanding Vocabulary; Quiz; Charts, Graphs and Maps
22. Audio-Visual Aids
Flash Cards; Charts; Handouts; Cartoons; Pictures; Slides; Phonograph Records; Tape Recorder; Radio; Motion Picture; Television; Language Laboratory; Computer; Mobile; Information and Computer Technology (ICT); Corpus Linguistics
Unit 9
23. Language Assessment: Its Role and Importance
Purpose of Language Testing; Aptitude Test; Placement Test; Formative Test; Achievement Test; Summative Evaluation; Diagnostic Test; Proficiency Test; Reliability; Validity; Typology of Test Formats; Cloze Test; Integrative vs. Discrete Items tests; Other Means of Assessment; Comprehensive and Continuous Evaluation (CCE); Rating or Evaluation; Outcome-based Assessment; Situation in India; Remedial Work; Feedback
Glossary of Terms
References
Name Index