Breaking down the language to build it up and teach

Blog Post  TESL 120 Speaking and Listening  Jan 17 2020

Young children learn languages by listening and repeating what it said.  It’s a long complex process taking years to master.  When we teach English to adults, it’s a much different process, but listening and repeating what is heard is a large part of it.  However, is there is much more to speaking another language than just knowing what to say (linguistic knowledge). Thornbury (2005) breaks it all down for us.  Extralinguistic knowledge encompasses cultural, context and familiarity, and is just as important than linguistic knowledge.  Sociocultural language is also very important to truly integrate into society.  Besides learning all the vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar, we much know about intonation, when to use specific words, subtle differences in meaning, idioms, etc.  

Speaking a language is very different than writing a language.  Speaking is generally less formal, and uses other formats than writing, such as partial sentences, and one-word answers.  We must also consider the function of language, cooperating with other speakers, politeness, register, body language, etc.  Such a complex process!  

As language teachers, our task is to start simple, explain well, and lead our students through this process.  Canadian Language Benchmarks (2012) divides speaking knowledge and strategies into several parts: grammatical knowledge, textual knowledge, functional knowledge, sociolinguistic knowledge and strategic competence. Each stage builds on these to develop speaking skills in a very practical manner, ensuring that students have a full understanding of spoken English. 

As we teach, one of the biggest learning aspects of spoken language learning is error correction.  I believe doing it well is really an art form.  Having a teacher who is a very good example of error correction, is the best way to learn. Balancing accuracy and fluence is also very important (Harmer 2001).  It must be done efficiently and gently, so students understand it’s importance, but are also not offended by the manner, or singled out too much.  There are many ways to apply error correction, and is highly dependent upon the student(s), context, timing, etc.  So learning many different ways is an important aspect of language teaching.  

On a personal note, this week we began an English conversation group in my church.  Many eager and talented volunteers have come forward and over twenty participants came for the first class.  So this class is rather timely for me, in that I hope to apply what I’ve learned immediately, and also to pass this on to the other volunteers.  For example, error correction was a concern of many.  Before I had done the readings, I told them what I had garnered from watching the teacher in the class that I volunteer in.  Promote fluency, but be gentle, look for common problems, and try to be not too obtrusive.  Now I know more, and I hope to add a bit more to their knowledge as well.  

Speaking and listening is such an important part of language learning, especially for newcomers to feel comfortable in their new environment.  I’m not sure how much we will accomplish in a few short weeks, but it’s a great start! 

References: 

Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks. (2012). Canadian Language Benchmarks. Retrieved from http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/pub/language-benchmarks.pdf

Harmer, J. (2001). The Practice of English Language Teaching, Chapter 7: Feedback on Oral Work, pp. 104-109.

Thornbury, S. (2005). How to Teach Speaking, Chapter 2: What Speakers Know, pp. 11-26.