YOUR BELIEFS ABOUT LANGUAGE, LEARNING AND TEACHING FACTORS AFFECTING COURSE DESIGN WHAT? Language Description Syllabus HOW? LANGUAGE COURSE Methodology Learning Theories Nature of particular target and learning situation WHO? WHY? WHERE? WHEN? Needs Analysis ARTICULATING BELIEFS  The complex nature of beliefs and understandings provides a teacher guidance in his/her decisions  However, beliefs are not necessarily something that teachers can easily articulate or are completely aware of (Johnson 1998) ARTICULATING BELIEFS (cont.) To understand where beliefs come from you need to look at your past experience and the beliefs about learning and teaching that grow out of and guide that experience  All of the influences – as a learner, as a teacher, as a colleague – provide the basis for your understanding of how languages are taught and learned and the beliefs that guide your choices ARTICULATING BELIEFS (cont.) • In fact, there are multiple possibilities, multiple justifications and multiple answers for the questions arising during the process of course design, depending on the context, on the teacher’s experience and his beliefs and understanding ARTICULATING BELIEFS (cont.) The general advice is that more is not necessarily better, and that course designer must have confidence in his principles and experience to make choices and decisions ARTICULATING BELIEFS (cont.) • One framework for articulating your beliefs is Stern’s in “Fundamental Concepts of Language Teaching”(1983) and “Issues and Options in Language Teaching” (1992) This framework is modified by Graves (2000) which proposes that we need to address the concepts of: - Your view of language - Your view of the social context of language - Your view of learning and learners - Your view of teaching ARTICULATING BELIEFS (cont.) BELIEFS ABOUT LANGUAGE Questions: - What language is? - What being proficient in a language means? - What you teach and how you teach it? The answers to these questions can be different BELIEFS ABOUT LANGUAGE (cont.) For example: Bailey (1988): Language = pronunciation, grammar, lexis and discourse Larsen-Freeman (1990): Language = form , meaning and use BELIEFS ABOUT LANGUAGE (cont.) (Canale and Swain 1980, Omaggio Hadley 1993) Being proficient in a language = Communicative competence (grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse and strategic competences) BELIEFS ABOUT THE SOCIAL CONTEXT OF LANGUAGE (cont.)  Socio-cultural issues are concerned with the interaction between language and culture, including social values (e.g gender differences), attitudes (e.g., towards roles of men and women), norms (e.g., ways of eating and greeting), customs (e.g., marriage customs) and products (e.g., literature, art ) ARTICULATING BELIEFS (cont.) BELIEFS ABOUT LEARNING AND LEARNERS The fundamental issue around learning is your view of how people learn and the roles that enable them to learn  Regarding LEARNING PROCESS, there may be different views BELIEFS ABOUT LEARNING AND LEARNERS (cont.) For example: 1- Learning is a process of problem solving and discovery by learner – an inductive process The learner is viewed as the maker of knowledge BELIEFS ABOUT LEARNING AND LEARNERS (cont.) 2- Learning can be perceived as the process of applying received knowledge – a deductive process The learner is the internalizer of knowledge 3- Learning can be viewed as a cognitive process, involving mental activities BELIEFS ABOUT LEARNING AND LEARNERS (cont.) 4- Learning can be viewed as an affective process, involving emotional connection and risktaking 5- Learning can be viewed as a social process, involving learning with others (Stevick, 1998) 6- Learning can be viewed as involving different intelligences such as visual, kinesthetic, auditory BELIEFS ABOUT LEARNING AND LEARNERS (cont.) Regarding ROLES OF LEARNERS 1- Learning may depend on individual effort in which the learner works alone; 2- Learning may depend on a group effort in which the learner may learn with or from each other; 3- Learners may be the source of expertise or recipient of it; 4- Learners may be partners and the decision-makers in the process or subordinates BELIEFS ABOUT LEARNING AND LEARNERS (cont.) Regarding LEARNING FOCUS: - Learning may be focusing on acquiring new knowledge, or mastering skills, or developing awareness, or learning about attitude - It may focus on how language works or on using the language - It may focus on the development of metacognitive and critical thinking skills ARTICULATING BELIEFS (cont.) Some questions about learning and learners: 1- Do learners learn better: - when they can discover their own answers or when they are given the correct answers? - When they feel secure or when they are challenged? - Individually or through interaction with each others? 2- Is the learner an expert? 3- Is he a partner in the learning process? ARTICULATING BELIEFS (cont.) BELIEFS ABOUT TEACHING Beliefs about teaching and the role of teacher are connected to beliefs about learning However, sometimes what a teacher actually does in his classroom may contradict to what s/he believes BELIEFS ABOUT TEACHING (cont.) Some questions about teaching and the role of teacher: 1- Is the role of teacher the expert? 2- Is the role of teacher to provide answers or is it to provide structures for finding answers? 3- Does the teacher make all the decisions or does she negotiate decisions with the learners? 4- Is the teacher a collaborator in students’ learning? 5- Is the teacher a learner? The process of teaching can be viewed on a continuum The students determine the problems to be solved and use the teacher as a language and culture resource The teacher and students negotiate the knowledge and skills and methods of learning The teaching process is viewed as providing problemsolving activities and actively helping students to negotiate them ; learning may be viewed as a process of shared decision making with students The teacher makes decisions about knowledge and skills to be learnt, tells students what to learn, or provides models or examples and expects or helps students to internalize them The teacher transmits knowledge to students A FRAMEWORK FOR ARTICULATING YOUR BELIEFS (SUMMARY) 1- YOUR VIEW OF LANGUAGE For example: language is rule-governed, meaning-based, a means of selfexpression, a means of learning about oneself and the world, a means of getting things done A FRAMEWORK FOR ARTICULATING YOUR BELIEFS (SUMMARY) 2- YOUR VIEW OF THE SOCIAL CONTEXT OF LANGUAGE For example: The social context of language includes sociolinguistic issues such as adapting language to fit the context, socio-cultural issues such as cultural values and customs which may be in harmony with or in conflict with those of the learners’ culture, and sociopolitical issues such as access to work and education A FRAMEWORK FOR ARTICULATING YOUR BELIEFS (SUMMARY) 3- YOUR VIEW OF LEARNING AND LEARNERS For example: • Learning is deductive or inductive process; learning occurs in community or individually; learning is the acquisition of knowlwdge and skills; learning is the development of metacognitive and critical thinking skills • Learners have affective, cognitive and social needs; learners receive knowledge or construct knowledge; learners follow directions or direct their own learning A FRAMEWORK FOR ARTICULATING YOUR BELIEFS (SUMMARY) 4- YOUR VIEW OF TEACHING For example: • Teaching is knowledge transmission, management of learning, providing of learning structure, a collaborative process • The teacher is a decision maker, knowledge transmitter, provider of learning structures, collaborator, resource