TEAC 22:

PRINCIPLES OF
TEACHING 2

Lecture No. 1

The Nature and Structure of
Language


The Nature and Structure of Language

Language uses symbols: sounds, gestures, or written
characters that represent objects, actions, events, and
ideas.
A language is meaningful and therefore can be
understood by other users of that language;
A language is generative, which means that the symbols
of a language can be combined to produce an infinite
number of messages;
A language has rules that govern how symbols can be
arranged
(psych.nmsu.edu/rjem/courses/cognitive/Anderson//html
).



The organization of language follows a hierarchical order:
1) Phonemes the smallest distinguishable units in a language
2) Morphemes are the smallest meaningful units in a language
(prefixes, suffixes, word stems
3) Phrases -
4) Sentences
Syntax is a system of rules that governs how words can be
meaningfully arranged to form phrases and sentences.
Ex . The article the must come before a noun, not after: Read
the book. not Read book the.

Properties of Human Language
Human language is said to be:
Creative and dynamic (ex. tapsilog, pogi)
Structured There are grammatical rules to follow.
Meaningful It can be understood by other users of the
language.
Referential evening star, morning star
Interpersonal My description must be understood by my
listeners.
Purposes of Language Teaching

We teach our students to communicate effectively.
(listening, speaking, reading and writing)
To help our students develop communicative and
academic competencies.(use of multidisciplinary
approach)
To develop cultural enrichment and aesthetic appreciation
for both English and Filipino.
Reflection:
1) As a system, what does language consist of?
2) What are examples of language symbols?
3) What are the criteria of language?
4) Give the building blocks of language ina hierarchical order.
5) What is meant by phoneme? Morpheme? Systax?
6) Explain the properties of language.
7) State the purposes of language teaching.

8. One language-related problem in schools today is the
number of non-readers. What are some causes? What
remedial measures are undertaken by the schools? Propose
some solutions.
9. What does research say about the effect of bilingualism
on language learning?
Lecture No. 2

Principles of Teaching and Learning
Language

Principles of Teaching and Learning Language
1. Begin with the end in mind
2. Encourage your students to personalize the learning goals
identified for them.
3. Motivation is essential in learning.
4. Learning is a social activity.
5. Teaching language is more effective and learning, more
meaningful when it is integrative.

5. Teaching language is more effective and learning, more
meaningful when it is integrative.
Incorporate the four language arts listening, speaking,
reading, and writing.
Consider varied strategies for all multiple intelligences and
learning styles
Apply interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary teaching You
have to tie language to content, than to teach grammar,
vocabulary and spoken English and Filipino in isolation.
Correct grammatical form and necessary vocabulary is best
learned in the context of content areas.

Teach language structure and form in authentic
contexts rather than through contrived drills in language
workbooks (Hill & Flynn, 2006).
Connect your lessons to the life experiences of your
students.
Incorporate effective, research-based instructional
strategies for teaching.
Integrate values in your lessons.

6. A conducive classroom atmosphere is a sine qua non of
the teaching-learning process. Build comfort into learning.
Pine and Horne (1996) describe a facilitative learning
atmosphere as one that:
Encourages people to be active.
Promotes and facilitates the individuals discovery of the
personal meaning of ideas
Emphasizes the uniquely personal and subjective nature of
learning
Sees difference as good and desirable
Consistently recognizes peoples right to make mistakes
Tolerates ambiguity/doubt
Looks at evaluation as a cooperative process and
emphasizes on self-evaluation
Encourages openness of self rather than concealment or
suppression of self
Encourages people to trust in themselves as well as in
external sources
Give respect to people
Accepts people for who they are
Permits confrontation with self and ideas
7. Learning is an active process in which the learner uses
sensory input and constructs meaning out of it. Learning is not
the passive acceptance of knowledge which exists out there
but that learning involves the learning engaging with the world
(Hein, 1991).
8. Learning is reflective.
9. An approach that allows for more time, more depth with
fewer, more complex topics is more desirable (Jensen, 1996, as
cited by Silver et al. 2000).
10. Emphasize on self-evaluation.

11. Make use of an integrated performance assessment
that makes the connections between the learning styles,
intelligence, and the real world explicit in a way that is
useful to both students and teachers.
12. Emphasize on real word application that favors
realistic performances over out-of-context drill items.

A facilitative class atmosphere is created when
language errors are handled tactfully. Filipino and
language are second language to almost all
students, especially the latter. We expect errors in the
learning process. Correcting errors tactlessly
adversely affects the learning atmosphere. Hills
advice is:

Grammatical errors should never be overtly corrected
but it is always appropriate to model back appropriate
English usage. The best way to provide corrective
feedback when grammar or pronunciation errors are
made is simply to model the correct English without overtly
calling attention to the error. Overtly correcting grammar
and pronunciation can generate anxiety, which in turn
can inhibit natural language acquisition. (Hill, J.& K. Flynn,
2006).

Reflection:
1) What is meant by integrated teaching?
2) What are the advantages of sharing your lesson
objectives with your students?
3) What are ways of keeping your students motivated?
4) Why is there emphasis on self-assessment?
5) Research on the additional principles of language
teaching.