Freeing teachers and learners: How can we promote fluency in the language classroom?

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Freeing teachers and learners How can we promote
fluency in the language classroom?

• Dr. Stephen Bax
• Canterbury Christ Church University
• England
• KTEC, Kuwait May 2006
  

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Background

• Dr. Stephen Bax
• s.bax_at_canterbury.ac.uk

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My background

• -Sudan
• -Algeria
• -Damascus, Syria
• -Baghdad, Iraq
• -Canterbury
• -UAE national review of education
• -Jordan national review of English teaching
• -Kuwait, Qatar, Yemen, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia

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Why focus on fluency?

• Professor Christopher Brumfit (1940-2006)
• 1984 Communicative methodology in language
  teaching The roles of fluency and accuracy

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The nature of language

• we cannot operate with a view of language
  simply as a descriptive system to be handed over
  to the learner
• language is not a package to be given from one
  owner to another..
• (Brumfit 1980116, my emphasis)

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Why is this important?

• Maybe our whole idea of language is damaging for
  our learners!
• by defining language as knowledge, a deficit
  view of the learning process has been established
  for all second language learners
• (Brumfit 1980120)

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Why is this important?

• In other words, we need to realise that language
  learning is unique
• It is a SKILL and not just packets of KNOWLEDGE.

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Skills work needs fluency work

• So our question today is, how can we promote a
  focus on skills and a focus on fluency?
• .. particularly for Arabic speaking learners?

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What do teachers do in practice?

• Handout 1

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What is the teachers role?

• Facilitator, model and so on. but also
• To act as a provider which means to provide all
  that learners need.
• Note only the teacher can do this

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How do we learn a language?Four Keys to Language
Learning

• Affect (motivation)
• Learners need to feel right about learning

Input They need the right quantity and the right
quality of input
Output They need the right quantity and the
right quality of output opportunities

• Form (accuracy work)
• They need awareness of correct forms
• cf. Willis 1996

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What is missing in these classes?

• Use of active tasks to promote fluency
• Teachers ability to develop their own activities
  and materials
• Checking student learning (spot checking)
• Using errors as a way of teaching

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1. So what teachers can do

• focus on skills
• provide tasks and materials for fluency
• check that all pupils are practising
• use errors creatively
• Teacher as provider - providing what the
  coursebook does not

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2. What coursebooks can do

• focus on skills
• give space and time for fluency work
• give tasks for fluency practice

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Problem

• parents, headteachers and learners have the view
  of language as a fixed package (Brumfit)
• this leads to certain views about learning
• and views about the teacher's role

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3. What the authorities can do

• Ministries need to remember that language is not
  a fixed package, but a skill
• the need for a syllabus with holes, giving
  extensive space for fluency practice
• the role of inspectors and supervisors

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Tests and exams

• need to be skills-based
• move away from grammar
• use unseen texts and passages
• Exams as the main tool for change?

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Conclusion

• We can see WHAT we can usefully do to promote
  fluency
• We have seen some pointers as to HOW to do it
• Lets do it!

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Thank you

• Dr. Stephen Bax
• s.bax_at_canterbury.ac.uk