Running Head: PRINCIPLES OF INSTRUCTED LANGUAGE LEARNING

Principles of Instructed Language Learning A Critical Review Paper

Vu Doan Khuong

Hanoi University

August 2011

Running Head: PRINCIPLES OF INSTRUCTED LANGUAGE LEARNING

Principles of Instructed Language Learning A Critical Review Paper

Vu Doan Khuong

Hanoi University

August 2011

PRINCIPLES OF INSTRUCTED LANGUAGE LEARNING Abstract In his work on reviewing the Second Language Acquisition theories, Professor Rod Ellis has made a drawing of a set of ten principles from SLA findings in term of teaching methodology and techniques. Ellis considers these principles of instructed language learning the speculation provision for the teaching and learning. The aim of this paper is to examine the practice of Elliss principles in the junior high-school teaching context. These principles have shown both the feasibility and inapplicability in this very traditional teaching context. Teachers can modify the principles to be suitable for the circumstances of teaching.

PRINCIPLES OF INSTRUCTED LANGUAGE LEARNING

Introduction
There have been a number of researches on seeking for good implication to ensure the instruction of language (Krashen, 1985; Long, & Robinson,1998; Ellis, 2005). Ellis essays to cash back different theories and findings and then identify a number of general principles which can provide guidance for curriculum design and classroom practice. They are: 1. Instruction needs to ensure that learners develop both a rich repertoire of formulaic expressions and a rule-based competence. 2. Instruction needs to ensure that learners focus predominantly on meaning. 3. Instruction needs to ensure that learners also focus on form. 4. Instruction needs to be predominantly directed at developing implicit knowledge of the L2 while not neglecting explicit knowledge. 5. Instruction needs to take into account the learner's 'built-in syllabus'. 6. Successful instructed language learning requires extensive L2 input. 7. Successful instructed language learning also requires opportunities for output. 8. The opportunity to interact in the L2 is central to developing L2 proficiency. 9. Instruction needs to take account of individual differences in learners. 10. In assessing learners' L2 proficiency, it is important to examine free as well as controlled production. The purpose of this essay is to review the applicability of Elliss ten principles of instructed language learning into practical teaching with regard to Vietnamese high-school education.

The teaching context and techniques

A junior high-school teacher, I have been working with teenaged students for more than sixteen years. I have been teaching in this school for nearly 16 years. I would like to take my current class, grade 9, as an objective to serve the discussion. There are 35 students in class in which girls is 19, and boy is 16. Because English is a compulsory subject that students have to take at the beginning of junior high-school level, all of the students have been introduced to English and exposed to English to some certain degree. The class is a mixture of students both good and bad at English. The public high-school, located in a remote area of Ho Chi Minh City, does not have sufficient facilities as well as funding to adequately support the teaching and learning.

PRINCIPLES OF INSTRUCTED LANGUAGE LEARNING The method and approach are very important for the improvement of student performance. There are nine popular methods and approaches in language teaching and learning (Richards & Rodgers, 1986). The method of teaching that I am applying at my school is the integration of the Grammar Translation Method, a traditional method being widely used in Vietnam, and the Direct Method, teaching English through conversation, discussion, and reading in the language itself without the use of students' language, translation and the study of formal grammar . The two methods contradict are at variant with each other. However, being a teacher, I should adapt and modify the teaching methods that are suitable for my teaching circumstances. While language learning has two aspects (a) understanding the structure of sentence, and (b) proficiency in their use, language teaching in Vietnamese high-school appears to be favorable on the former. Therefore, the methods and techniques I use are varied in order to ensure no only students grammar and vocabulary, but also the basic skills involving, listening and understanding, speaking, reading, and writing. There are a number of techniques which we can ensure that students not only understand the meaning of a language form and how it is used in exchanges or texts, but are also clear about its construction (Harmer, 2001). I am in favor applying the techniques suggested by Harmer (2001) as follow: Demonstration and explanation Discovery Accurate reproduction Immediate creativity Check question

The sequence in my lesson is often carried out through three basic steps: engagement, study and activate. A variety of teaching aids and activity are used in order to make students interested as well as to avoid conducting the lesson in a dry process.

PRINCIPLES OF INSTRUCTED LANGUAGE LEARNING

Critique
There have been a lot of constraints teachers encounter teaching at high school level. Taking those impediments in to account, the critique section is to discuss following named principles: Principles 2 and 3 which are about the debate of meaning focus and form focus, Principle 4 which discuss the matter of implicit and explicit knowledge Principles 6, 7, 8 are also concerned due to the practicability as well as difficulties in applying. Principle 9 is included since individual differences are a very important factor teachers need to pay attention to cater students learning.

Principle 2 & 3: Instruction needs to ensure that learners focus predominantly on meaning, also focus on form. It is one of the most debated topics of supporting meaning-focused or form-focused approach. Some SLA researchers claim an approach that includes a focus on the grammatical form of the second language (L2) is best (Ellis, 2005). In contrast, others contest that there is no place for a focus on grammar in the SLA classroom and it is meaningful communication that should be emphasized (Krashen 1982, 1985). According to Long (1991) and Long and Robinson (1998), both focus on forms and focus on meaning instruction are valuable, and should complement rather than exclude each other. Focus on form instruction, in their view, maintains a balance between the two by calling on teachers and learners to attend to form when necessary, yet within a communicative classroom environment. In Vietnam, the traditional way of teaching English only help students on grammar so that they can pass examination, while the communicative demand is ignored altogether. Certainly, a good language teaching does not teach only grammatical structures or syntactic structures, for this cannot develop learners communicative competence automatically. Therefore, with applying focus on form in input and focus on meaning in output, the students have more competence during the communication compared with the traditional teaching approach. More students can speak more fluent and more accurate English, because they are given more opportunities to exchange the ideas and opinions with others. Meanwhile, this approach creates more authentic communicative environment, in which students can practice meaningful contexts in the process of speaking tasks.

PRINCIPLES OF INSTRUCTED LANGUAGE LEARNING Given to this aspect, however, one of the most challenging factors that teachers encounter in using both form-focus and meaning-focus is the time limitation. The national syllabus does not allow teachers much time to have students practice on communication. I often have to keep up with the demand of sufficiently giving students the necessary grammatical structures as well as vocabulary they need for the exams. In light of my teaching context, the truth is that meaning focus is occasionally impracticable to some extent.

Principle 4: Instruction needs to be predominantly directed at developing implicit knowledge of the L2 while not neglecting explicit knowledge. Professor Ellis says, Implicit knowledge is procedural, is held unconsciously, and can be verbalized only if it is made explicit. It is accessed rapidly and easily and thus is available for use in rapid, fluent communication. This statement just means that the implicit here means hidden knowledge and that is held without thinking and be verbalized by the student only if its made clear. SLA students need things unfolded for them to understand the meaning and grammar. (Ellis, 2005) A grammar is serious and the central in language teaching at high-school, this principle raise a debate of implicit or explicit teaching. In other words, should grammar be taught deductively or inductively? Traditional explicit lessons are often not communicatively based. They can therefore be boring, inconvenient and difficult for students to assimilate. In fact, high-school students in Vietnam have received this explicit, deductive grammar instruction for years. They have to recall grammar rules so well as to cope with English written exams at school. With the constraint and the exam-oriented curriculum, inductive approach to teach grammar is rarely practiced here. In the meanwhile, inductive instruction creates a context of autonomous, meaningful learning. It encourages active rather than passive participation of students in the learning process (Shih, 2008). However, in the teaching context like Vietnam, the implicit approach seems to be difficult to be applied due to the factors of students level, as well as the syllabus. Considering my own teaching, I believe that implicit approach should be served as a complement for instruction. Nonetheless, it is problematic for teacher to focus on the implicit excessively. Still, the explicit one plays an important role as facilitating learning and meeting the demanding of the syllabus.

PRINCIPLES OF INSTRUCTED LANGUAGE LEARNING Principle 6 & 7: Successful instructed language learning requires extensive L2 input, also requires opportunities for output. Language acquisition was fostered by input that was comprehensible, developmentally appropriate, redundant, and accurate (Krashen, 1985). To facilitate language acquisition, input must be comprehended (Krashen, 1985). In light of my teaching, my students receive much extensive L2 input under the forms of grammar formations, vocabulary worksheet, reading worksheet etc.,. This can firstly ensure students knowledge for the exam. Additionally, to me, it is scaffolding as I want my students to act out during the lessons. Meanwhile, many researchers in second language acquisition argued that successful language learning does not only require comprehensible input, but also comprehensible output. The more opportunities for the students to employ the target language to negotiate meaning, the more they were expected to acquire communicative competence (Liang, 2002). Therefore, it was fair to state that output was just as important as input since most people learn how to speak a foreign language by actually speaking that language (Swain, 1995). Although the Communicative Approach, which focuses on the interaction, is widely applied today, the traditional teacher-centered Grammar Translation Method is still the dominant stream in high school classrooms in Vietnam. Thus, student output was limited in a traditional classroom due to the dominance of teacher talk. To overcome the obstacle, cooperative activities are given to enhance my students language output while decrease the amount of teacher talk. Certainly, they are limited to a certain degree due to impediments mentioned.

Principle 8: The opportunity to interact in the L2 is central to developing L2 proficiency. Certainly, involvement in classroom interaction will help students explore and learn much better. Therefore, a variety of group-work and pair-work activities are used in my classroom in order to give students opportunities to practice speaking. Notwithstanding, it is acceptably true that interaction appears to be unavailable in traditional high-school teaching in Vietnam. Most of the time in classroom interaction at high school is still teacher centered class where the teacher does most of the talking. Demonstrably, only with student centered classes, students have more chances to explore what has been taught to them. In addition, main roles in interaction, high-school students are passive and unconfident. Most of them are slow and unwilling to respond to questions even they know the answers.

PRINCIPLES OF INSTRUCTED LANGUAGE LEARNING My students like to give the answers in chorus or wait to be called up. When they are appointed to respond, they may prefer to hesitate and give short answer where possible so that they do not give their peers the impression that they are showing off. Another reason is that they are not confident. They are afraid of giving a wrong answer and being laughed or criticized by friends and the teacher.

Principle 9: Instruction needs to take account of individual differences in learners. Individual differences have always been a challenge to high-school teacher. At the teenaged ages, students thinking and behavior are irregular and unpredictable. In addition, teachers encounter with the time limitation as well as the large size of class - a typical case of high-school teaching. Students family background is a difficult factor to deal with. Most of the students in class come from poor family where they do not have enough care and supervision from parents. It takes much time and great efforts from me to get a close touch with those students, and find out a way to motivate them in learning. Gender difference does influence the teaching. Differences exist in boys and girls developmental rates. It has been long agreed that girls have superior language abilities than boys. This does show the same evident in my classroom. With the group of majority is female, the male minority seems to be lag behind if I do not pay much more attention to their learning. In order to minimize the in class with wide range of differences, different group works are used in my classroom to gather those students who share the most similarity together. I also provide opportunity for boys and girls to participate equally in the teaching and learning processes, and in extra co-curriculum activities.

Conclusion
There are many ways of learning and teaching a second language. We can apply concrete methods focus on gaining the best results for our students. These general principles have drawn on a variety of theatrical perfectives. This model has its limitations and is open to criticism; in particular we have to combine these principles above how to teach a second language effectively for each situation at our school. It would be clearly useful to attempt to formulate a set of principles based on the broader conceptualization of second language

PRINCIPLES OF INSTRUCTED LANGUAGE LEARNING acquisition one that emphasizes the importance of the social as well as the cognitive aspects.

PRINCIPLES OF INSTRUCTED LANGUAGE LEARNING

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References
Barnes, D. (1976). From Communication to Curriculum. Harmondsworth: Publishing. Penguin

Ellis, R. (2003). Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ellis, R. (2005). Instructed second language acquisition a literature review. Wellington: Auckland Uniservices Limited. Ellis, R. (2008). Principles of Instructed Second Language. http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/digest_pdfs/Instructed Retrieved from:

Harmer, J. (2001). The practice of English language teaching. Longman ELT. Krashen, S. (1985). The input hypothesis. London: Longman Publisher.

Liang, T. (2002). Implementing cooperactive learning in EFL teaching: Process and effects. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, National Taiwan Normal University, Taiwan. Long, M., & Robinson, P. (1998). Focus on form: Theory, research, and practice. In C. Doughty & J. Williams (Eds.), Focus on form in classroom second language acquisition, 15-63. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Richards, J. & Rodgers, T. (1986). Approaches and methods in language teaching. Cambridge: Cambirdge University Press. Shih, J. Y. (2008). Effects of inductive and deductive approaches in grammar instruction for junior high school students of differing English proficiency. Unpublished master dissertation, National Pingtung Institute of Commerce, Taiwan. Swain, M. (1995). Three functions of ouput in second language learning. In G. Cook & B. Seidhofer (Eds.), For H. G. Widdowson: Principles and practice in the study of language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.