| Somewhere between scholarly studies of how people | | | | writing through some guidance are of greater benefit |
| learn and the frontline experience of teaching, the issue | | | | than gapfill activities where students must insert a |
| of how TEFL/ESL learners actually acquire and keep | | | | missing verb form. This is for two reasons; first, gapfill |
| language is confronted in activity design. Language | | | | activities focus more on grammatical form rather than |
| practice activities come in many forms, and their | | | | meaning (as verbs are often given in such activities). |
| design should take into account learning aims, the most | | | | Second, such practices are mostly receptive. All |
| important being language production. What is language | | | | information is given, requiring only students to change |
| production practice? Any student learning any | | | | words, rather than come up with phrases and |
| language requires time and concentration to practise | | | | sentences themselves. |
| language after it has been acquired through a | | | | Our next point relates to the second aspect of |
| teacher’s presentation or through the discovery | | | | language production activities; they must allow students |
| approach. | | | | to relate them to other structures they know. |
| Yet, considering many course book and handout | | | | Grammar cannot be seen in isolation, and language |
| activities formats, not all employ language production. A | | | | production activities must use context for students to |
| considerable amount feature gapfills that require | | | | make the link between new structures and familiar |
| students to modify a stem verb or guess a missing | | | | ones. Take for example, the present perfect simple at |
| verb. This cannot be considered as language | | | | elementary level. This structure fits commonly in with |
| production as such TEFL/ESL practice requires fuller | | | | superlative adjective forms (e.g. what’s the best |
| expressions, even sentences to be constructed | | | | restaurant you have been to?) and the past simple |
| around context. For more examples of language | | | | (e.g. follow-up questions to “have you ever been |
| production practice, see the online handouts here: | | | | to...”) TEFL/ESL activities should integrate such |
| There are two types of productive practice of English | | | | forms and ensure students are made to use them |
| in terms of skills; written practice and speaking practice. | | | | when practising new forms. |
| Common sense in TEFL/ESL learning methodology | | | | The final point, extrapolation, relates to the continuation |
| dictates that written practice should come first. | | | | of understanding and use of freshly-learnt grammatical |
| Learners need time and separation from others to | | | | forms through language production activities. Language |
| digest new language, without the pressures of | | | | forms such as the present perfect simple re-occur at |
| interaction. Logically, when some sense of grammatical | | | | several levels (all between elementary and |
| rules is made individually, learners should progress to | | | | upper-intermediate in fact). Thus, it is crucial for |
| communication. | | | | teachers to integrate activities that promote learner |
| The productive element of practice is what’s | | | | revision of prominent forms. How can this be achieved |
| crucial to English learning. Learners have to, through | | | | through language production activities? In short, |
| intuitive activity design by teachers or course book | | | | students need to make language, helped along with the |
| writers, hardwire the use of grammatical structures | | | | context of heavy grammar recycling and re-use of |
| and fixed vocabulary expressions. Context is | | | | fixed expressions. TEFL/ESL tasks involving pictures |
| everything in this process. Grammatical structures, | | | | or dominoes with minimal context do not achieve this. |
| arguably, should be practised in context according to | | | | On the other hand, speaking tasks that involve |
| three principles. Students need to be able to use | | | | students rephrasing expressions with other fixed |
| structures comfortably (understanding), fit within | | | | expressions (for example ‘have a friendly |
| existing structures (relation), and relate to other context | | | | relationship’ rephrased to ‘get on with)’ are |
| beyond the confines of the existing activity | | | | exceedingly useful. |
| (extrapolation). Each of these three factors is equally | | | | In conclusion, students learning English need to |
| significant. | | | | ‘make’ language through contextual guides such |
| The first principle of understanding is mostly concerned | | | | as pre-known grammar, familiar vocabulary that |
| with levels and grading in a TEFL/ESL context. For | | | | students can relate to, and exemplification. This can be |
| example, students with only limited experience in | | | | done through language production activities in the form |
| English (say for example two months), are likely to be | | | | of writing and speaking. Writing activities where |
| able to understand the past simple, though will most | | | | students model grammatical structures with their own |
| likely struggle grasping the differences with the present | | | | personalised information, and speaking activities where |
| perfect simple. Understanding, though, is a slippery | | | | students practise the essentials of new grammar in |
| concept, and there is nothing worse than a teacher | | | | pairs and groups are particularly helpful. The way |
| asking ‘do you understand’? | | | | forward in TEFL/ESL is for course books and |
| So how can students improve their understanding | | | | teachers to acknowledge this and continue to aid |
| through language production activities? Arguably, ESL | | | | students in their quest for improvement through |
| worksheets that involve repetitive, contextual sentence | | | | productive practice. |