Methods and approaches to Teaching EFL

Unit 1. 1.

Listening 1.1

Where Did the English Language Come From? 19 August 2008

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

More people are trying to learn English than any other language in the world. English is the language of political negotiations and international business. It has become the international language of science and medicine. International treaties say passenger airplane pilots must speak English.

English is the major foreign language taught in most schools in South America and Europe. School children in the Philippines and Japan begin learning English at an early age. English is the official language of more than seventy-five countries including Britain, Canada, the United States, Australia, and South Africa.

In countries where many different languages are spoken, English is often used as an official language to help people communicate. India is a good example. English is the common language in this country where at least twenty-four languages are spoken by more than one million people.

(MUSIC)

 

VOICE TWO:

Where did the English language come from? Why has it become so popular? To answer these questions we must travel back in time about five thousand years to an area north of the Black Sea in southeastern Europe.

Experts say the people in that area spoke a language called Proto-Indo-European. That language is no longer spoken. Researchers do not really know what it sounded like.

Yet, Proto-Indo-European is believed to be the ancestor of most European languages. These include the languages that became ancient Greek, ancient German and the ancient Latin.

Latin disappeared as a spoken language. Yet it left behind three great languages that became modern Spanish, French and Italian. Ancient German became Dutch, Danish, German, Norwegian, Swedish and one of the languages that developed into English.

 

VOICE ONE:

The English language is a result of the invasions of the island of Britain over many hundreds of years. The invaders lived along the northern coast of Europe.

The first invasions were by a people called Angles about one thousand five hundred years ago. The Angles were a German tribe who crossed the English Channel. Later two more groups crossed to Britain. They were the Saxons and the Jutes.

These groups found a people called the Celts, who had

 

lived in Britain for many thousands of years. The Celts and the invaders fought.

After a while, most of the Celts were killed, or made slaves. Some escaped to live in the area that became Wales. Through the years, the Saxons, Angles and Jutes mixed their different languages. The result is what is called Anglo-Saxon or Old English.

Old English is extremely difficult to understand. Only a few experts can read this earliest form of English.

 

VOICE TWO:

Several written works have survived from the Old English period. Perhaps the most famous is called Beowulf. It is the oldest known English poem. Experts say it was written in Britain more than one thousand years ago. The name of the person who wrote it is not known.

Beowulf is the story of a great king who fought against monsters. He was a good king, well liked by his people.

Listen as Warren Scheer reads the beginning of this ancient story in modern English.

 

VOICE THREE:

So. The Spear-Danes in days gone by

and the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness.

We have heard of those princes' heroic campaigns.

There was Shield Sheafson, scourge of many tribes,

a wrecker of mead-benches, rampaging among foes.

This terror of the hall-troops had come far.

A foundling to start with, he would flourish later on

as his powers waxed and his worth was proved,

In the end each clan on the outlying coasts

beyond the whale-road had to yield to him

and begin to pay tribute. That was one good king.

 

VOICE ONE:

The next great invasion of Britain came from the far north beginning about one thousand one hundred years ago. Fierce people called Vikings raided the coast areas of Britain. The Vikings came from Denmark, Norway and other northern countries. They were looking to capture trade goods and slaves and take away anything of value.

In some areas, the Vikings became so powerful they built temporary bases. These temporary bases sometimes became permanent. Later, many Vikings stayed in Britain. Many English words used today come from these ancient Vikings. Words like "sky," "leg," "skull," "egg," "crawl," " lift" and "take" are from the old languages of the far northern countries.

(MUSIC)

 

VOICE TWO:

The next invasion of Britain took place more than nine hundred years ago, in ten sixty-six. History experts call this invasion the Norman Conquest. William the Conqueror led it.

The Normans were a French-speaking people from Normandy in the north of France. They became the new rulers of Britain. These new rulers spoke only French for several hundred years. It was the most important language in the world at that time. It was the language of educated people. But the common people of Britain still spoke Old English.

Old English took many words from the Norman French. Some of these include "damage," "prison," and "marriage." Most English words that describe law and government come from Norman French. Words such as "jury," "parliament," and "justice."

The French language used by the Norman rulers greatly changed the way English was spoken by eight hundred years ago. English became what language experts call Middle English. As time passed, the ruling Normans no longer spoke true French. Their language had become a mix of French and Middle English.

 

VOICE ONE:

Middle English sounds like modern English. But it is very difficult to understand now. Many written works from this period have survived. Perhaps the most famous was written by Geoffrey Chaucer, a poet who lived in London and died there in fourteen hundred. Chaucer's most famous work is "The Canterbury Tales," written more than six hundred years ago.

"The Canterbury Tales" is a collection of poems about different people traveling to the town of Canterbury. Listen for a few moments as Warren Scheer reads the beginning of Chaucer's famous "Canterbury Tales."

 

VOICE THREE:

Whan that aprill with his shoures soote

The droghte of march hath perced to the roote,

And bathed every veyne in swich licour

Of which vertu engendred is the flour;

Whan zephirus eek with his sweete breeth

Inspired hath in every holt and heath.

 

VOICE ONE:

Now listen as Mister Scheer reads the same sentences again, but this time in Modern English.

 

VOICE THREE:

When April with his showers sweet with fruit

The drought of March has pierced unto the root

And bathed each vein with liquor that has power

To generate therein and sire the flower;

When Zephyr also has, with his sweet breath,

Quickened again, in every holt and heath,

The tender shoots and buds, and the young sun.

 

VOICE TWO:

English language experts say Geoffrey Chaucer was the first important writer to use the English language. They also agree that Chaucer's great Middle English poem gives us a clear picture of the people of his time.

 

VOICE ONE:

The prologue you just heard describes a group of religious travelers going to Canterbury. To entertain themselves, they agree to tell stories while they travel.

The Knight's Tale is about two men who compete for the love of a beautiful woman. The Miller's Tale is a funny story that tells about a young man who is in love with a married woman. The two play a mean trick on the woman's old husband.

One of the most famous characters in the series of stories is the Wife of Bath. She is a strong, and opinionated woman who likes to talk about her many adventures in life and marriage.

Some of the people described in "The Canterbury Tales" are wise and brave; some are stupid and foolish. Some believe they are extremely important. Some are very nice, others are mean. But they all still seem real.

The history of the English language continues as Middle English becomes Modern English, which is spoken today. That will be our story next time.

Unit 1. 2.

Lead –In 1.2

1 D  2 A 3  B 4 C  5 E

Listening 1.2

US Colleges Move to Increase Financial Aid

Action by Harvard turns up heat on other schools to use more of their endowment money to help their students. Transcript of radio broadcast:

09 January 2008

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

A recent decision by Harvard University to expand financial aid is putting pressure on other schools to do the same.

The full price for one year at Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is more than forty-five thousand dollars. Many other private colleges cost just as much. But Harvard is much wealthier than any other American university, so it has more to give.

Harvard already offers a free education to students from families that earn up to sixty thousand dollars a year. This has helped increase the numbers of lower income and minority students.

Now, the aim is to help all but the wealthiest American families pay for a Harvard education. The new policies announced last month will assist families that earn as much as one hundred eighty thousand dollars. These families will be asked to pay no more than ten percent of their income for college.

For example, a family earning one hundred twenty thousand dollars would pay about twelve thousand a year. Under existing student aid policies the amount is more than nineteen thousand.

What Harvard has done is change the way it offers financial aid. Undergraduates will not be expected to take out loans. Increases in grant aid will replace loans. Also, Harvard officials will no longer consider the value of a family's home when deciding how much aid to give.

Harvard says it expects to spend up to twenty-two million dollars more a year in financial aid. This will come from its endowment. A college endowment is money given by former students and others as gifts. Schools invest the money to earn more. Harvard’s endowment is valued at thirty-five billion dollars.

Other universities with large endowments are also changing their financial aid policies. Examples include Yale, Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania.

Yale’s endowment is the second largest after Harvard, at twenty-two and a half billion dollars. This week, Yale in New Haven, Connecticut, announced it will use more of that money for financial aid as well as scientific research. Yale may also admit more students.

But some colleges say they simply do not have enough money to compete with the new policies that are being announced.

Critics of the rising costs of a college education say schools are making these changes in an attempt to avoid action by Congress. Some lawmakers have criticized universities for raising their prices even as their endowments grow larger and larger.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. We will talk more about endowments next week. Transcripts and MP3s of our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.  

Find and Present the information 1.2.:

Skinner

See:

http://images.google.ru/images?um=1&hl=ru&lr=&newwindow=1&rlz=1G1GGLQ_RURU310&q=B.F.+Skinner-video

Unit 1. 3.

Listening 1.3

With College Endowments, How Much Is Too Much?

Wealthy U.S. schools are being pushed to use more of their money to help students pay high tuition costs. Transcript of radio broadcast:

16 January 2008

 

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

An endowment is money from donations and investments. Colleges use endowment money for student aid and campus improvements, and for financial security.

But college costs in the United States have been rising faster than inflation. Graduates often face years of debt from student loans. Yet more than sixty colleges and universities, half of them public, have endowments worth at least one billion dollars.

Critics say schools with a lot of money should be sharing more of their wealth to ease the struggle for families. As we reported last week, some now plan to do just that. These include Harvard and Yale. They will also give money to families that earn much more than those that now receive aid.

Harvard has by far the largest endowment of any American university, thirty-five billion, followed by Yale at twenty-two and a half billion.

Yet some educational activists worry what might happen as less-endowed colleges try to compete with these changes. They say the pressure to help upper middle-class families might mean less aid for poor students.

Colleges and their endowments are excused from taxes. Other tax-exempt groups are required to spend at least five percent of their endowments each year. Some people, including Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, think it is reasonable to consider such a requirement for colleges.

The senator praised Harvard and Yale for their plans and said he hopes others will follow.

Senator Grassley is the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, which deals with tax policy. Last September, at his urging, the committee questioned experts about this issue.

One was Lynn Munson of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity. She says universities pay out only about four percent of their endowments, yet their investments earn much more than that.

A study found that endowments of more than one billion dollars earned an average return of fifteen percent in two thousand six. The average for all endowments was just under eleven percent.

But some experts say most endowment money has to remain invested so schools are not hurt when markets fall.Also, universities point out that donors often restrict the uses for their donations. Still, Lynn Munson said forty-five percent of endowment money at private schools is unrestricted, and twenty percent at public colleges.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. I'm Steve Ember. 

Find and Present the information 1.3.:

Jean Piaget

See: http://images.google.ru/imgres?imgurl=http://sciencestage.com/uploads/thumbs/QxsuBNnLuttVkWP0DRIH.jpg&imgrefurl=http://sciencestage.com/de/v/197/jean-piaget-child-psychology.html&usg=__LM3F7q3fHxZ_lrAmNVQcDqdSC6s=&h=262&w=356&sz=64&hl=ru&start=4&tbnid=P6ytUuhrLJlXDM:&tbnh=89&tbnw=121&prev=/images%3Fq%3DJean%2BPiaget%2Bvideo%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Dru%26newwindow%3D1

Lev Vygotsky

 

See:

http://video.healthhaven.com/video-play.aspx?video=634376752589779456&ei=aLSISaC4DZbUqAPejbCJCw&q=Vygotsky+video

Jerome Bruner

See:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2H_swMUlOg&feature=related

 

Carl Rogers

(1902-1987) Principally known as the founder of person-centred psychotherapy and almost the inventor of counselling, also a leading figure in the development of humanistic approaches to education.

In the field of adult learning, do not confuse with Alan Rogers, or Jennifer Rogers

 

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Rogers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HarEcd4bt-s&feature=related

John Holt

(1923-1985) Radical thinker and maths teacher, best known for How Children Fail.

 

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Caldwell_Holt#Further_reading

http://sandradodd.com/johnholt

Paulo Freire

(1921-1997) Brazilian educationalist: pioneer of adult literacy programmes as a means of raising the consciousness (conscientization) of South American peasants and urban underclass. Critic of the "banking" model of education, in which the elite own and construct the knowledge, and the poor are excluded. Very influential in politicised adult education. Not easy to read.

 

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulo_Freire

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVz_AOFuZ_E&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fj4SGO4iO9M&feature=related

 

ПРОВЕРИТЬ РОВНОСТЬ

 

Unit 1. 4.

Listening 1.4

Teachers of English in Russia Feeling Winds of Change in Their Profession

07 November 2006

Last month I had the opportunity to speak at two conferences -- one was a meeting of SPELTA, the St. Petersburg English Language Teachers' Association. The other brought top English teachers from across the Russian Federation to Kursk State University, in the Kursk region bordering Ukraine.

Both conferences were about using technology to teach English. But it was also a chance to talk with several English language instructors about other developments in the field.

LUDMILA KUZNETSOVA: "I'm Ludmila Kuznetsova, a professor of Saint-Petersburg University. I've been recently elected president of [SPELTA.]"

AA: "What's it like teaching English today, at a time where traditionally British English has been taught in the Russian schools, but now there seems to be more and more interest in American English?"

LUDMILA KUZNETSOVA: "Well, all students have to learn a foreign language. And the English language is taking over, and American English is also taking over from the British version of the language. So there is more and more of American language taught at Russian colleges and universities, as a compulsory course. But also Russian schools and university teachers teach more courses on American culture."

AA: "What advice do you have for English teachers who are in a situation where they're trying to get their students to communicate more, to talk more."

LUDMILA KUZNETSOVA: "I'm also a teacher trainer and I always tell my trainees that they shouldn't be afraid of giving their power over to students, to trust them more and to involve them more. Not only in responding to the teacher's questions or doing exercises, drills or other tasks, but to create materials for the language classroom -- to unleash their creativity and use it to the benefit of the students."

AA: "And what use are you making of Internet technology in language teaching in Russia?"

LUDMILA KUZNETSOVA: "Only recently have we started using Internet technologies. And basically we at present are the takers of the information, of the materials from the Internet, and we are learning to use the resources that are out there, but not yet creating our own. This will be probably our next step."

DMITRIY KLIMENTIEV: "My name is Dmitriy Klimentiev and I'm associate professor of English language, Kursk State University."

AA: "Now you're something of a legend here, it seems, with Internet and information technology. What advice do you give to teachers who are thinking about using the Internet in their lessons, or maybe already using it and not sure how to make the most effective use of it?"

DMITRIY KLIMENTIEV: "What I usually say, the first thing we should think about is the reasonable approach. You should use each teaching tool only when it is really more efficient than the one you used to offer before.

"So if you need more information, if you need something which the students are not used to, then you go online and you look for something. If the Web connection is not very good, if your computers are old, then don't waste time. Choose whatever is more efficient, whatever saves time and whatever is more motivating for students.

"Now you can even make use of a cell phone which plays MP3 files. And they can listen to a book which they download from the Internet or somebody from a CD into their cell phone, and then after having listened to this book, they will just share the contents with the others."

Dmitriy Klimentiev teaches at a university, but one of his projects has been to work with local high school students to create English-teaching CDs of their own. They used Microsoft's PowerPoint software to develop a volume of interactive presentations, based on VOA's Special English programs for English learners. They downloaded transcripts and MP3 files from voaspecialenglish.com.

Unit 1. 5.

Listening 1.5

Foreign Student Series: College, University or Institute?

Part three of our Foreign Student Series explains the different kinds of higher learning institutions in the U.S. Transcript of radio broadcast:

24 September 2008

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

  Americans use the term "college students" to mean students either in colleges or universities. Not only that, Americans almost never say "going off to university" or "when I was in university." That sounds British. Instead, they say "going off to college" and "when I was in college."

College, university: what's the difference? We answer that this week in part three of our Foreign Student Series on American higher education.

 Colleges and universities have many things in common. Both offer undergraduate degrees in the arts and sciences, for example. And both can help prepare young people to earn a living.

But many colleges do not offer graduate studies. Another difference is that universities are generally bigger. They offer more programs and do more research.

Another place of higher education, especially in technical areas, is an institute, like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Yet even an institute of technology can offer a wide choice of programs and activities. M.I.T. says that seventy-five percent of freshmen come there with a strong interest and involvement in the arts.

Modern universities developed from those of Europe in the Middle Ages. The word "university" came from the Latin universitas, describing a group of people organized for a common purpose.

 "College" came from collegium, a Latin word with a similar meaning. In England, colleges were formed to provide students with places to live. Usually each group was studying the same thing. So college came to mean an area of study.

The first American universities divided their studies into a number of areas and called each one a college. This is still true.

A college can also be a part of a university. For example, Harvard College is the undergraduate part of Harvard University.

 Programs in higher learning can also be called schools, like a school of engineering or a medical school within a college or university. You know, learning all these terms is an education in itself.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. Our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com.

We invite your questions for our Foreign Student Series. We cannot offer any personal advice or assistance. But we might be able to answer a general question during our series.

Be sure to tell us your name and where you are. Write to [e-mail] or use the Contact Us link at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

 

Unit 1. 6.

Lead –In 1.6.

CALL – computer assisted learning

1 D 2 A 3 C 4B

Listening 1.6

On the Web, College Classes With No Charge (or Credit)

Knowledge is free on the Internet at a small but growing number of colleges and universities.

About one hundred sixty schools around the world now offer course materials free online to the public. Recent additions in the United States include projects at Yale, Johns Hopkins and the University of California, Berkeley.

Berkeley said it will offer videos of lectures on YouTube. Free videos from other schools are available at the Apple iTunes store.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology became an early leader with its OpenCourseWare project, first announced in two thousand one. Free lecture notes, exams and other resources are published at ocw.mit.edu. Many exams and homework assignments even include the answers. The Web site also has videos of lectures and demonstrations.

Today, OpenCourseWare offers materials from one thousand eight hundred undergraduate and graduate courses. These range from physics and linear algebra to anthropology, political science -- even scuba diving.

Visitors can learn the same things M.I.T. students learn. But as the site points out, OpenCourseWare is not an M.I.T. education. Visitors receive no credit toward a degree. Some materials from a course may not be available, and the site does not provide contact with teachers.

Still, M.I.T. says the site has had forty million visits by thirty-one million visitors from almost every country. Sixty percent of the visitors are from outside the United States and Canada.

There are links to materials translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese and Thai. OpenCourseWare averages one million visits each month, and the translations receive half a million more.

Students and educators use the site, including students at M.I.T. But the largest number of visitors, about half, are self-learners.

Some professors have become well known around the world as a result of appearing online. Walter Lewin, a physics professor at M.I.T., is especially popular. Fans enjoy his entertaining demonstrations.

M.I.T. OpenCourseWare now includes materials for high school. The goal is to improve education in science, technology, math and engineering.

MODULE 2.

Unit 2.1.

Listening 2.1.

Education minister calls for national curriculum

AM - Friday, 6 October, 2006 08:00:00

Reporter: Lynn Bell

TONY EASTLEY: The Federal Education Minister Julie Bishop says it's time for states and territories to hand over some of their education responsibilities and have curricula set by a national board.

 

The minister will make her case for a common national curriculum in Fremantle today.

 

She accuses some state bureaucrats of having hijacked curricula with Chairman Mao type ideologies.

 

She says her back-to-basics approach will benefit students and parents across the nation.

 

But the Minister's view is not shared by the Australian Education Union, or the Victorian Minister for Education.

 

From Canberra, Lynn Bell reports.

 

LYNN BELL: In a provocative speech to be delivered today, the Education Minister Julie Bishop says state and territory bureaucracies should be stripped of their responsibility for setting school curriculum.

 

She says ideologues within state education authorities, have hijacked school curriculum and some of the themes emerging are straight from Chairman Mao.

 

She's also against students deconstructing Big Brother or interpreting Shakespeare from a feminist perspective.

JULIE BISHOP: When you've got first year law students at prestigious universities having to undertake remedial English, we should be concerned that there's something desperately wrong in our curriculum and what is being taught in our schools.

 

LYNN BELL: Instead, she's calling for a back-to-basics, uniform national curriculum.

But the Australian Education Union's Victorian Secretary, Mary Bluett, says the minister's comments are as ill-informed as they are insulting.

MARY BLUETT: Those comments are so far away from the reality. Teachers are not ideologues or fad-followers. They are educated, committed and caring professionals.

LYNN BELL: Victoria's Education Minister, Lynne Kosky, has also dismissed Julie Bishop's proposal.

LYNNE KOSKY: And really if she was very keen on making sure that our students gain the benefit of improved education, she would work with state ministers.

 

LYNN BELL: Julie Bishop wants a common curriculum, for both primary and secondary schools to be set by a National Board of Studies.

 

JULIE BISHOP: I've suggested a national board. It could comprise representatives from state and territory governments, experts, educators, but what we currently have is eight separate education authorities all developing curriculum and in many cases it's the same, but they won't use each other's curriculum.

 

LYNN BELL: She notes the states and territories collectively spend $180 million running their boards of studies and curriculum councils, and in many cases the documents they produce are the same.

 

Victoria's Education Minister Lynne Kosky concedes some courses are similar.

LYNNE KOSKY: Look, I think there are some similarities between the states and that's why we are developing a national test around literacy and numeracy. That's why we are, as states and territories, cooperating.

 

But I really don't think that Canberra, by dictating what is essential in terms of learning will actually make a difference for our students and indeed will not be beneficial for our students.

 

LYNN BELL: Mary Bluett from the Australian Education Union says state and territory specific content is important and should not be eroded.

 

But the minister says the idea should spark a national debate.

 

JULIE BISHOP: If we were able to have national model curriculum, the savings that would be made from having one national approach could then be reinvested in our education system, so that wherever an Australian child went to school, they received a quality education from a quality teacher in a quality environment.

 

Unit 2.2.

Listening 2.2.