,
,Section 1 – Overarching Considerations
Chapter 1 – Foreign language teaching: understanding approaches, making choices
1.1 From teaching methods to informed pedagogical choices
A teaching approach represents a general conception of how languages are learned and should be taught. A
method translates such assumptions into systematic classroom procedures. A technique is a specific classroom
activity.
Historically influential approaches include:
Grammar-translation: emphasis on grammatical rules, vocabulary and translation; limited
spontaneous communication.
Audiolingual teaching: structured oral practice, repetition and pattern drills; strongly behaviourist in
orientation.
Communicative language teaching: prioritises meaningful communication, interaction and functional
language use.
Task-based language teaching: organises learning around purposeful tasks requiring learners to use
language to achieve an outcome.
Contemporary practice is increasingly principled rather than method-bound. Teachers select and combine
procedures according to pedagogical purpose rather than following one method rigidly.
1.2 Communicative competence
Language proficiency extends beyond grammatical accuracy. Effective learners need to understand and produce
language while adapting their communication to context.
Communicative competence includes:
1. Linguistic competence – vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation and orthography.
2. Sociolinguistic competence – appropriate language use according to context and relationship.
3. Pragmatic competence – expressing and interpreting intended meaning.
4. Strategic competence – compensating for gaps through reformulation, clarification, inference or other
strategies.
Accuracy and fluency are therefore complementary rather than competing objectives. Explicit attention to form
remains valuable when integrated with meaningful language use.
, 1.3 Selecting appropriate pedagogy
Pedagogical decisions should begin with the intended learning outcome.
A coherent sequence is:
1. Define what learners should know or be able to do.
2. Determine the linguistic and cognitive demands of the objective.
3. Select activities that provide appropriate practice.
4. Establish how achievement will be assessed.
5. Adapt instruction on the basis of learner performance.
Effective alignment requires consistency between objectives, learning activities and assessment.
Factors influencing methodological choice
age, proficiency and prior knowledge;
learner needs, interests and motivation;
class size and classroom interaction;
curriculum requirements and assessment;
linguistic and cultural context;
technological and material resources.
1.4 Input, interaction and output
Language development requires substantial exposure to comprehensible language. However, exposure alone is
insufficient. Interaction gives learners opportunities to negotiate meaning, notice linguistic problems and receive
feedback. Output requires learners to retrieve and organise linguistic knowledge and can reveal gaps in their
developing competence.
Effective instruction therefore combines:
comprehensible and progressively challenging input;
meaningful interaction;
opportunities for spoken and written production;
feedback and opportunities for revision.
The difficulty of input and tasks should be sufficiently demanding to stimulate development without creating
excessive cognitive or linguistic overload.
,Section 1 – Overarching Considerations
Chapter 1 – Foreign language teaching: understanding approaches, making choices
1.1 From teaching methods to informed pedagogical choices
A teaching approach represents a general conception of how languages are learned and should be taught. A
method translates such assumptions into systematic classroom procedures. A technique is a specific classroom
activity.
Historically influential approaches include:
Grammar-translation: emphasis on grammatical rules, vocabulary and translation; limited
spontaneous communication.
Audiolingual teaching: structured oral practice, repetition and pattern drills; strongly behaviourist in
orientation.
Communicative language teaching: prioritises meaningful communication, interaction and functional
language use.
Task-based language teaching: organises learning around purposeful tasks requiring learners to use
language to achieve an outcome.
Contemporary practice is increasingly principled rather than method-bound. Teachers select and combine
procedures according to pedagogical purpose rather than following one method rigidly.
1.2 Communicative competence
Language proficiency extends beyond grammatical accuracy. Effective learners need to understand and produce
language while adapting their communication to context.
Communicative competence includes:
1. Linguistic competence – vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation and orthography.
2. Sociolinguistic competence – appropriate language use according to context and relationship.
3. Pragmatic competence – expressing and interpreting intended meaning.
4. Strategic competence – compensating for gaps through reformulation, clarification, inference or other
strategies.
Accuracy and fluency are therefore complementary rather than competing objectives. Explicit attention to form
remains valuable when integrated with meaningful language use.
, 1.3 Selecting appropriate pedagogy
Pedagogical decisions should begin with the intended learning outcome.
A coherent sequence is:
1. Define what learners should know or be able to do.
2. Determine the linguistic and cognitive demands of the objective.
3. Select activities that provide appropriate practice.
4. Establish how achievement will be assessed.
5. Adapt instruction on the basis of learner performance.
Effective alignment requires consistency between objectives, learning activities and assessment.
Factors influencing methodological choice
age, proficiency and prior knowledge;
learner needs, interests and motivation;
class size and classroom interaction;
curriculum requirements and assessment;
linguistic and cultural context;
technological and material resources.
1.4 Input, interaction and output
Language development requires substantial exposure to comprehensible language. However, exposure alone is
insufficient. Interaction gives learners opportunities to negotiate meaning, notice linguistic problems and receive
feedback. Output requires learners to retrieve and organise linguistic knowledge and can reveal gaps in their
developing competence.
Effective instruction therefore combines:
comprehensible and progressively challenging input;
meaningful interaction;
opportunities for spoken and written production;
feedback and opportunities for revision.
The difficulty of input and tasks should be sufficiently demanding to stimulate development without creating
excessive cognitive or linguistic overload.
