Diary 7

Session seven


This time we were supposed to read about the changes took place in language teaching and learning area ,from traditional up to contemporary time.
There came upon different changes considering the curriculum design as well as the teacher’s role,the sts’s role,the type and tools for assessment and evaluation and many others.
The first step is to come to this fact that,we must incorporate new ways of doing the already existing things.So the idea is that change is evolutionary rather revolutionary. This infact corresponds with Widdoson’s idea of accommodation with involves an endeavor to see the theories or any new thing we learn, from a different angle and prespective,and since just not assimilate it to the already got knowledge.
The main reason for the occurrence of changes, was the ineffectiveness of the traditional approaches.Considerin traditional methods such as audionlingualism or GTM,sts were unable to use the things they learnt beyond the classroom, in real life situations. They usually learnt about the language and not the language itself.
In order to help the learners to communicate and use the language ,it was gradually recognized that a new approach to learning and teaching was needed.
Considering the syllabus design, traditional approaches tend to make a distinction and separation between the selection and sequencing of the content and that of the learning tasks and activities. This is what with the emergence of new approaches was put in to doubt. As a result we can’t separate process and content.
In traditional approaches we observe that the teacher usually transmits the knowledge we she assumes is better for the sts,and sts are passive recipient of that knowledge. While now the idea puts emphasis on interpretation which demands an active role on the part of the sts,and they can put sth of their own view.
Moreover ,in the past the classroom was more or less highly structured ,in which the teacher controlled everything, and sts had little power over the content or process of learning. While in the new low-structure one we have the sts participation and great deal of autonomy.
In short in modern approaches learners do not merely pattern provided by the teacher, textbooks and tapes. They learn how to communicate in real life situations and make use of what they learnt in the class for authentic purposes. They learn to be reflective and be aware of their own process of learning. They are aware of their weaknesses and strengths and they develop self-assessment and self-evaluation skills.
The sts learn to make creative use of the lang,which means they put what they have learnt before into novel ways and produce utterance ,which they didn’t make before. This comes along with using of role play activities, problem solving tasks, and simulation.Thry learn about meta-cognitive strategies as well as traditional strategies. The new ones help them to become better language learners outside of formal lang learning context. They can monitor and reflect on their own learning.
The facilities provided for contemporary lang learners include text-books,tapes,videos,different kinds of realia which have their own advantages. Moreover we have the technology and internet available which provide the learners with genuine opportunities for commutation beyond the classroom. They can designing their weblogs, access the e-books and e-journals, having e-portfolios, using e-mails and lots of other opportunities that the world wide web provide for them.
Another important area in which the change accrued was assessment. In the past we had just the teacher ,who evaluated the sts and everything was decided by the teacher.sts couldn’t assess what they learnt and how much they needed to learn. However in contemporary evaluations we have the teacher as well as the peers and parents and even the learners themselves which all contribute to the process of evaluation. We have sts self assessment and self evaluation mentioned before.
Considering the use of language in the past opportunities to use the lang was so limited, but in modern times sts can make use of language in a num of ways: keeping diaries, doing some projects, having field trips, use computer based games, and cmc.
Appliction
Considering the cultural, economic, religious ,educational boundaries which still exist in our country ,willing to stay and not to depart it seems so difficult to have and make these changes happen in our classes. But we can make them happen to a degree with some effort.