TEACHING LANGUAGE

COMPONENTS AND
LANGUAGE SKILLS

Cao Thuy Hong, PhD.

ULIS, VNU
TEACHING
LANGUAGE What to teach?
COMPONENTS

How to teach?
 TEACHING
VOCABULARY
 FORM MEANING USE

Categories Description Example

A
S
P
E
C
T
S
O
F
V
O
C
A
B
U
L
A
R
Y
1. Pronunciation J. What a word sounds like [ti:]

2. Spelling G. What a word looks like T-e-a

3. Grammar K. Change of form (especially if it is irregular) Ox- oxen

4. Collocation I. Restrictions on how words can be used together Make trouble but Do wrong

5. Denotation H. The core meaning that refers the word to the real world Nightfall: the close of the day

6. Connotation E. The additional meaning that shows people’s emotions and attitudes Excuse in She made an excuse
towards what the word refers to. for being late has a negative
meaning.
7. Formality F. Whether a word is appropriate to use in certain contexts Thank you- Thanks

8. Synonym D. Words that mean the same or nearly the same Bright, clever, smart

9. Antonym B. Words that mean the opposite Rich vs. Poor

10. Hyponym C. Words that serve as specific examples of the same concept Bus, car, lorry, van

11. Word building A. How a word is created Sink à sinkable àunsinkable

 Principles of teaching vocabulary
} Spoken form first
} Check that your students have understood the new words
} Put the words into context and get students to practice them
} Revision is necessary, otherwise new words will be forgotten
} High frequency words should be given more teaching time and
attention
} Learning chunks of words as a quick way to develop fluency
} Ss should be trained in vocabulary learning strategies for effective
self-study
How to teach
1- Presenting new words
• (1) Put the word in context
Visiting a Different places
friend’s school
in the school

} (2) Use different Picture + eliciting question

techniques to elicit •Look at this picture.
the words from •What do you see in the
students picture?à a lot of books, you
can study here, you have to
keep quiet
•Which place is this? à The
library
OTHER ELICITING
TECHNIQUES

Mime
Realia
Situation
Examples
Synonym/ Antonym
Translation
Combination
1- Presenting new words
• (1) Put the word in
Different places in
context Visiting a
friend’s
school the school

Picture + eliciting question

} (2) Use different •Look at this picture.
techniques to •What do you see in the picture?à
elicit the words a lot of books, you can study here,
from students you have to keep quiet
•Which place is this? à The library

} (3) Present the words orally [Teacher- Whole class – Individual students]

} (4) Write the word on the board [Ask students to copy]

} (5) Focus on other aspects [i.e., Library]

2- Consolidating vocabulary
} To help students remember the new words

} Please note the aim of each activity:

◦ remember the spelling, pronunciation,
meaning, etc.
◦ use the vocabulary in a sentence, etc.
◦ Foster short/ long- term memory
TEACHING GRAMMAR
 What to teach?

Three- dimensions:

(1) Form

(2) Meaning

(3) Use/ pragmatics

In terms of communication, meaning is crucial.

Without meaning, language is pointless.
From: Larsen-Freeman, D. (2001). Teaching Grammar. (pp. 251-266).
In Celce-Murcia, M. (Ed.) Teaching English as a Second or Foreign
Language. (3rd Edition). Boston: Heinle & Heinle.

How is it formed? What does it mean?

form/structure meaning/semantics
‘s

use/pragmatics - written/
spoken
- Contexts
When/Why is it used? - Formal/
informal….
May I go out?
 Form-Meaning-Use
Form Meaning Use

Present Auxiliary verb be + Expresses an More frequent in

progressive gerund ongoing or conversation than writing
She is reading a continuous action in
book. present time Used primarily with
dynamic verbs (go, run,
walk) rather than stative
verbs (know, love)
Use- Form- Meaning Remember Communicative tasks
(exercises)
 Presentation- Practice- Production
Presentation: Teacher does the work
-T leads the students to discover the meaning and use of the new language in context within a
dialogue, a situation, a story … as in real life.
-T provides a clear model for students

Practice: Teacher & Students do the work

-T uses different sources of exercises to make students practice: drills, followed by pair work exercises (à A
variety of activities should be employed to consolidate learners’ language: drills, mimes or pictures as prompts,
etc.)
-Practice is controlled and the T emphasizes accuracy
-A lot of time is spent on correction
Role: Students memorize the rules and say the target language smoothly
Production: Students do the work
-T makes Ss produce the new language they have learnt on their own in a familiar contexts (e.g.
conversations, role-play, discussion, games, writing a letter, etc.)
-Practice is not controlled by teachers. Ss learn to speak themselves to get fluency.
-T do not correct Ss’ mistakes directly because this will stop them from becoming fluent.
Role: Ss learn by doing and not just copying the model
 Presentation stage
Technique Description Advantages Possible problems

1. Presenting Giving a detailed lIn a meaningful •Students are left alone in

rules and account on grammar contextà Ss will find it their learning
giving point + examples to easier to understand and •What Ss are asked to do
examples show how it is used remember grammar is memorizing in most
points part without thinking
lPresented along a
situation àSs grasp the
meaning and use more
easily
lAssumptions à
Check: à Ss will retain
the point longer
 Explicit (Deductive) vs. Implicit (Inductive) teaching

• Explicit (Deductive) • Implicit (inductive)

– Start with grammar • Students discover the grammar for
– Explain the rules themselves through a series of steps
– Uses different sorts of exercises • “Discovery technique”
to make the students practise • Examples -à rules

I sunbathed on the beach.

I picked seashells.
 4 • How to teach grammar from eXilmples

Deductive or Inductive? r--- ------------1

!

1 the rule
I Look at these sentences:
You know Norma and Joe, don't you?
They work every day.
Joe talks to tourists, and Norma writes letters.
We always go to their travel agency.
The agency Oi'f'0fS tcurs to. many different countrIes.
I like the service tilers too.
.. There (s a final s cn the verb only WIth
certain subjects. What are they?
oI 0 you 0 he 0 she 0 it 0 we 0 they

Now apply the rulel

Circle the right verb.
I see/sees Norma almost every day, or
she caU(caUs me. She and Joe sometimes
come/comes to my house on weekends.
Joe usually tell/tells us some funny stories.

(from IVhple, R. Ne·w H:7"-'i' J, Longman, 1988)

Deductive or Inductive?
Deductive or Inductive?
 Practice stage

Controlled practice Less controlled practice Free practice

(Mechanical practice) (Meaningful practice)

Teachers dictates T give Ss opportunities to

and controls what practise the target grammar Production
Ss say, usually in a meaningful way to get
through drills students to familarize
themselves more with the
new language

(1) Getting students to say things that are real, even better relevant to the Ss
(2) Giving them situations that imply the target structure but leave them to decide
what exactly to say
(3) And by letting them adding their language beyond target grammar
 Production stage

• Teacher creates situations in which target Grammar points are

expected to use along with other structures to finish given tasks.
• The activities/ situations promote communication. The new
language occurs unprompted, naturally & frequently in the
context of other previously learnt language.
• Fluency is the focus
• Teacherʼs roles:
• Facilitator: provide help if necessary
• Analyst: analyzing if the objective of the task is achievedà necessary
adjustments
 Practice vs. Production
Practice stage Production stage
More control Free

Teacher uses immediate correction Delayed correction

T gives more cues Ss have to make their own sentences
and think for themselves more
Accuracy is the focus Fluency is the focus
T’s role: T’s role:
-elicit accurate language from Ss -Facilitator
-Give Ss lots of exercises so they -Analyst
can memorize the new language
Target items are isolated and Target items are added to other
practised on their own structures, functions vocab that Ss
already know
 Similarities: Practice- Production

• Teacher has to set up activities carefully

• Instruction must be clear, demonstrations or examples must be
provided before group or pair work begin
• Teacher must consider mixed ability in the work arrangement
• Practice in both stages happens simultaneously. Everyone is
talking at once.
• Practice and production are more important than presentation
 TEACHING
PRONUNCIATION
• Preference in the past: RP (Received Which model(s)?
Pronunciation)
• Now:
- World Englishes (Kachru (1985)’s three circles
of English: inner circle (USA, UK), outer circle
(India, Nigeria), expanding
circle (Vietnam, China)
- Intelligibility: students should be able to use
pronunciation which is good enough
for them to be always understood
(Harmer, 2007:249)
 Sounds (Vowels, dipthongs,
consonants)

Stress (word stress, sentence stress)

What to Intonation
teach?
Connected speech

Fluency
Sounds

Sound (vowels, diphthongs, consonants)

• - Demonstrate how a particular sound is made
and how it can be spelt.
• - Ask students to contrast two sounds which are
familiar and confusing.

Sound and spelling

• - Teacher helps students by giving them typical
spelling for sounds every time they work on them.
Listen and Repeat (If you are teaching a long word with
multiple syllables, start with the final syllable of the word and
have your class repeat it. )
Isolation: This is especially helpful when you have several
students struggling with a specific sound delineation.

Minimal pairs (two words that vary in only one sound): Minimal
pairs are a great way to focus pronunciation on just one sound
(rat and rate, pin and pen, bat and pat).
Record and replay
Techniques for teaching sounds
Techniques for teaching sounds

introduce new
vocabulary
Stress and Intonation
 A stressed syllable combines five features:
• It is l-o-n-g-e-r: com p-u-ter
• It is LOUDER - comPUTer
• It has a change in pitch from the syllables
coming before and afterwards. The pitch
Word stress of a stressed syllable is usually higher.
• It is said more clearly -The vowel sound is
purer. Compare the first and last vowel
sounds with the stressed sound.
• It uses larger facial movements - Look in
the mirror when you say the word. Look at
your jaw and lips in particular.
Word stress Oo
• Students can be alarmed when they meet words which are
similar but have different stress patterns:

Oo
equal
o O oo
equality
Ooo
equalise
oooOo
equalisation
 Word stress Oo

In the classroom:
• Raise awareness & build confidence: Build students' confidence by
drawing their attention to the tendencies and patterns in word stress that
do exist.

o o o O o finalisation
O o final neutral o O oo finality neutrality O o o finalise neutralise
neutralisation
 Word stress Oo
• Integrate word stress into your lessons
You don't need to teach separate lessons on word stress. Instead, you can
integrate it into your normal lessons. The ideal time to focus students' attention
on it is when introducing vocabulary.
• Use a clear easy-to-see way of marking stress on the board
and on handouts for students [i.e., the big circle - small circle (O o)
method].
• Students also need to be aware of the way dictionaries
usually mark stress à students will be able to check word stress
independently.
 English is a stress-timed language
The English language is often
referred to as stress-timed. This
means that stress in a spoken
sentence occurs at regular
intervals and the length it takes to
Sentence stress say something depends on the
number of stressed syllables
rather than the number of
syllables itself.
 Sentence stress- Listening
• Give the students the tape script and play a very short extract. Students mark on the tape
script the words that are stressed. Discuss the kinds of words that are stressed. They will
usually be the words that give meaning: verbs, nouns and adjectives.
• Give the students the tape script to a listening before they hear it and ask them to predict
which words they think will be stressed. Play the tape to check the predictions.
• Play a fairly short listening extract, maybe a paragraph in length, students write down the
important (stressed) words they hear. You can play the tape several times.

• Emphasise that this isn't a dictation exercise you don't want students to try to write down every word.
• In groups ask the students to try and recreate the listening extract using the words they have and their
knowledge of the English language. Compare the students' version with the original.
• Discuss with students the aim of this activity - to show how native speakers listen and understand the
language, taking note of the important words, usually stressed ones, and using their knowledge of the
language to build meaning.
• The important conclusion being it is not necessary to understand every word.
Sentence stress- Speaking

• I asked you to buy me a bunch of red roses.

• I asked you to buy me a bunch of red roses.
• I asked you to buy me a bunch of red roses.
• I asked you to buy me a bunch of red roses.
 Intonation
Techniques to teach intonation
• The first thing is for learners to recognise the effect of intonation changes.
• Provide learners with models - don't be afraid to exaggerate your intonation.
• Let students compare two examples of the same phrase, eg: varied/flat intonation,
English / L1.
• Ask students to have a 2-minute conversation in pairs as 'robots' (elicit the word
using a picture if necessary), i.e. with no intonation. When they then go back to
speaking 'normally', point out that the difference is made by intonation - this is
what gives movement to our voices.
• Get students to imitate teacher’s intonation, but without words, just humming.
• Use arrows over the words on the board to mark rises and falls
 Connected speech:
• - is how sounds of words change when
they come into contact with each
Connected other.
• - contractions, elision, assimilation,
speech and linking and intrusion, juncture
fluency Fluency:
• - Have students say phrases and
sentences as quickly and intelligibly as
possible.
 • Assimilation: /t/ assimilates to /p/
Can you see that boy over there?

Examples Where has the cat been all night?

Who’s a cute baby, then?
• Intrusive /r/
 • Whole lessons: spend the whole lesson on
pronunciation
• Discrete slots: insert short, separate bits
of pronunciation work into lesson
sequences
When to
• Integrated phases: focus on pronunciation
teach? issues as an integral part of a lesson
(e.g. reading/listening lessons)
• Opportunistic teaching: spend some
minutes on pronunciation issues when the
problems arise.
HOW TO TEACH
Presentation:
Introduce the sound (pronunciation point) in context
Present the rules (explicitly/ implicitly)

Practice:
- Recognition tasks (listen and identify, sorting)
- Production tasks (noughts and crosses, read aloud, tongue
twisters, etc.)

Production:
- Use the words (pronunciation point) in roleplay
- Create songs/ chants/ poems, etc.
Consonant sound /dʒ/ 1. Where was the accident, on a bridge or a
highway?
2. What kind of vehicle was it?
3. Who was driving?
4. Was he driving carefully or dangerously?
• Two jeeps crashed on a 5. What was he doing before he drove?
bridge in January. A man 6. Was anyone injured?
7. What happened to the driver
named George John was
driving the larger jeep. He
was driving very dangerously
because he had been drinking
‘soju*.’ The other jeep went
over the edge, and two kids
were injured. Now George is
in jail.