Analysis of Teaching Materials Type: the Face 2 Face Intermediate Course Book - Literature review Example

Running Head: ANALYSIS OF TEACHING MATERIALS TYPE NAME: INSTITUTIONAL AFFILIATION: Face 2 face intermediate course book is a book designed in a way that helps to improve student’s learning in English especially for those who like talking and using L2 language in their daily life. This is evident in it’s uniqueness in the exercises students are taking. For instance, there is a page labeled listening and reading, vocabulary, grammar and finally writing. Quick review is also evident at the beginning of each unit where students get to test their efficiency in grammar and vocabulary from their previous lessons. As suggested by Richards and Rodgers (2006), the word ‘Review’ is also evident at the end of each unit. This is where students are able to test their ability on what they have learnt.Basing on the exercise of listening and reading, also known as receptive skills, this will be more effective in a situation where students work in groups as the book is strongly based on communicative approach (Lightbown $ Patsy, 2005). However, this skill will be less productive in a situation where students prefer working individually. Introduction of face2face class audio cassettes and CDs also plays important role in boosting the learner’s acquisition of the second language. This is more so because when the students view the play, they tend to have vivid memory on what they saw hence building their second language learning stronger (Lightbown $ Patsy, 2005). Another uniqueness of this face2face book is that it has a separate workbook that offers further exercise from what one does on the given unit. The teacher’s book also contains surplus exercise which will strengthen the student memory on what they already have. Availability of the face2face website also eases the acquisition of the second language learning to those students that have interest in learning, because they can visit this web at their on free times. Vocabulary being another exercise is also practiced in this book whereby items like phrasal verbs, articles, pronunciation, day-to-day phrases are observed, where different technique is used. In the pronunciation exercise, students repeat the sentences being keen on word stress and intonation. The exercise of grammar has also been used in this course book. According to Williams et al (2007), face2face book has used the ‘inductive grammar teaching’ whereby students get to notice similarities in the language summary and comes up with differences in their general conclusions basing on what they see on the layout of the book (Lightbown $ Patsy, 2005). Students are also encourage to mark any vocabulary word they find and trying to find it’s meaning before embarking on their exercise or the language summary found at the end of each unit. In the face2face teacher’s book, it contains more vocabularies that are not found I the learner’s book whereby, he uses them to impact the second language to the learners. Writing being the major work for students has been brought out in this book more often as an exercise to test students in what they have been taught after every unit done. Although in this book, the skill of writing has displayed itself in the student’s course book this exercise just cover only exercise that has been taught in that unit ,thus this exercise will be of much difficulty to a teacher whose students have no interest in buying any other book besides the student’s course book (Lightbown $ Patsy, 2005). According to Mitchel and Myles (2006), themes are organized in such a way that different themes are obtained from the short stories that are discussed or brought out after every unit discussed. An exercise on grammar also is given out to test students on their language efficiency and this is based on articles, phrases and words, tenses, question forms and clauses. Skills of reading and writing, speaking and listening are also observed in this book. The skill of speaking is seen whereby this skill aims at accuracy and fluency whereby students take time in formulating their ideas before speaking them out. However, the skill of listening focuses on stress system, intonation displaying different feelings and mood, connection on the features of speech and gives students courage on the link between written and spoken words. According to Williams et al (2007), reading and Writing skill also is observed in this book. The reading skill focuses on skimming and scanning sub- skills which help students to have clue on what to be discussed on that unit. This skill is evident in some pages of this face2face book like page-24 where it offers ‘work to do’ statements that tests on the student’s progress. In this book also it is designed in a different way to suit the learner’s ability in application of different vocabularies thought at the end of each unit. These are lexical found at the back of the book with the aim of putting into practice what the students have learnt. Basing on the grammar used in this book, the functional and situation language have been emphasized whereby students are required to observe them in their day to day lives after they have been thought. Functional language has portrayed itself more often as this shows agreement and disagreement, asking for one’s opinion, invitations and apologies displayed in each unit. However, situational language is seen in places such as in farms, hotels or other places (Lightbown $ Patsy, 2005). The structure of the student’s course book is designed in a way that is of much help to the student. This is evident by the quick review at the beginning and at the end of each unit section. This review at the beginning prepares the student on what to come across in that unit and what is familiar to his /her understanding. The review at the end of each unit test and reminds student what they have learnt at that unit. The efficiency on what the students have learnt is mostly tested by a set of exercises in the teacher’s book at the end of each unit taught. Pronunciation is another unique structure observed in this book. Students are drill on how to pronounce, being keener on sentence words that are to be stressed, those having different intonations and other phonological features. The pronunciation drill is of much help to students by the use of class audio cassettes and CDs, whereby the teacher points out word sentences in student’s course book before applying the audio cassettes and CDs. In the face2face intermediate student’s book, Krashen’s 5 Hypotheses’ is the general second language learning theory evident. According to Williams et al (2007), it is clearly shown that the ‘Acquisition-Learning have been applied in this book. This is more so because students using this book tend to know more of what they learn than only their native language with the help of vocabularies and other language skills they learn from the different units and more so if they put it in use from their day to day activities through communication in regardless of how they pronounce it. Monitor is another hypothesis applied in this book, whereby the use of face2face audio cassettes and CDs are referred to as ‘monitor’ as through this, those students who are willing to be corrected, observe the application of the grammar rule in their pronunciation and spending more of their time in practicing the language are corrected. This monitor hypothesis is of much importance to those learners that use them appropriately, and this is portrayed in those learners who are self- confident in speaking (Lightbown $ Patsy, 2005). This shows that such learner have interest in knowing what he doesn’t know while one who depends mostly on the monitor tend to lack self-confidence. Use of group discussion is of great help in that learners are able to build their confidence and correct each other than those who prefer working individually. Natural order hypothesis is also applied in this book whereby some other grammatical structures tend to have been learnt at their earlier times at different phases for example the tenses. This is more efficient if the learner had understood and still remembers what he /she had been taught from the previous topic studied and by introducing this related topic it will reinforce learner’s knowledge on that topic; hence the acquireness of the second language learning is reinstated. Another hypothesis observed in this book is the input hypothesis. This is observed whereby the learner obtains another new and additional knowledge from what he/she learns. In this book there are a lot of new vocabularies, whereby if the learner takes into account of every new word added and applies it at daily communication he/she will definitely improve his acquisition and learning of the second language. Affective Filter is another hypothesis in which it deals on learner’s ability to express him/her fearlessly (Lightbown $ Patsy, 2005). This hypothesis is more effective to those learners who are anxious in learning new vocabularies and using them on their day to day communication. By having that anxiety, the learners develop their self-confidence thus getting motivated thus increasing their second language learning acquisition. However, learners that have low self-esteem tend to lose courage and become less anxious to do something because they are lowly motivated thus they fail to acquire any new vocabulary that might boost their knowledge and acquisition of the second language learning. In this book, some of the aspects of language performance emphasized are linguistic and sociolinguistic. Sociolinguistic has been mostly observed here in that this is acquired mainly through the interaction of the learners during their discussions. Learners also that have self-confidence and anxious, tend to emphasize this aspect of sociolinguistic because they can be freely corrected by their teacher thus enhancing their acquisition of the second language learning. However, this sociolinguistic will not apply in a situation where students prefer working in solitude to working as a group. Linguistic being another aspect have greatly been applied in this book. According to Williams et al (2007), this is evident where learners are taught on the different vocabularies they find in each unit discussed and how they can apply them in their daily lives hence promoting their acquisition of the second language learning. The use of the face2face cassettes and CDs also boost one’s acquisition of the second language through both the aspects of linguistic and sociolinguistic. Lightbown et al. (2005) suggested that, aspect of linguistic displays itself here when the learners get to learn and apply what they hear from the cassette in terms of how the words are pronounced, their ability to pronounce different words basing on the intonations. As suggested by Richards and Rodgers (2006), the aspect of sociolinguistic has been applied here through the observance of how some words are pronounce from the face2face CDs shown to the students whereby, some words and letters are pronounce, for instance the shape of the mouth. From these two aspects, learners with interest in learning new vocabulary and are very keen in observing the differences displayed in each word, tend to strengthen their knowledge on the acquisition of the second language learning. Chomsky (2006) said that the learning style or strategy that has been used in the book is self-directed learning because it involves programs that aim at achieving learners’ autonomy. In this book we find that the author focused on the teaching of tactics and strategies of the L2. It overlooks other important factors such as the students’ attitudes towards beliefs, autonomy, and expectations about the l2 learning and teaching, personal objectives and needs, learning styles and self evaluation. One of the premises of self-directed programs in this Face 2 face intermediate course book is the fact it enhances students’ metacognition to prepare them for approaching their own learning autonomy. As suggested by Richards and Rodgers (2006), this program has involved cyclic diagnosis having criteria of choosing optimum resources, strategies and activities for individualized programs. This Face 2 face intermediate course book has highlighted the unifying role of metacognition in all levels of L2 learner training. In conclusion, the Face 2 face intermediate course book is majorly based on Krashen’s SLA theories. Lightbown et al. (2005) suggested that, the study of the structure of the language can contain overall educational values and advantages that 2L learners may need to add in their language programs. It is clear, however that examining formulating rules, 2L teaching complex facts and irregularity about the target is not language, but linguistics. References: Lave and Wenger (2007) Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. New York: Cambridge University Press. Gannon, Martin J. (2006). Understanding Global Cultures. Thousand Oaks-London-N. Delshi: Sage. Grinder, Michael (2008). Righting the Educational Conveyer Belt. Portland: Metamorphous Press. Harley, B. et. al., eds. (2005). The Development of Second Language Proficiency. Cambridge: CUP. Mitchell, Rosamond and Florence Myles (2008). Second Language Learning Theories. London: Arnold. Nunan, D. 2001) Language Teaching Methodology – A textbook for teachers, Hemel Hempstead: Prentice Hall. Richards, J.C. and T.S. Rodgers (2006). Approaches and Methods in Language Learning. Cambridge: CUP. Williams, Marion and Robert L. Burden (2007). Psychology for Language Teachers. Cambridge: CUP. Lightbown, Patsy M. and Nina Spada (2005). How languages are learned. Oxford: OUP. Doyé, Peter (2009). Young Learners - Résumé of the work from 1995 to 2000. Graz: ECML/Council of Europe Publishing. Read More