Teaching & Learning Guide for: From Theory to Practice: General Trends in Foreign Language Teaching Methodology and Their Influence on Language Assessment

This guide accompanies the following article(s): Christine Campbell and Greg Duncan From Theory to Practice: General Trends in Foreign Language Teaching Methodology and Their Influence on Language Assessment Language and Linguistics Compass1/6 (2007): 592–611. DOI: 10.1111/j.1749‐818x.2007.00032.x Author’s Introduction This article describes developments in language teaching methodology over the past 30 years that have both informed trends in language assessment and been influenced by them. When language learning theorists in the late 1970s redefined ability in a second or foreign language as the capacity to function effectively in real life, vs. contrived or artificial, contexts, communicative language teaching became the prevailing language teaching methodology. Communicative assessments in the four skills, however, were not created and used by sizeable numbers of K‐16 language professionals until the mid‐1990s. The writing and implementation of the national standards for foreign language learning in the 1990s heralded a new era for language learning; the profession now had content standards specifying skills and knowledge that US high‐school students needed to acquire by graduation. The standards have significantly shaped language assessment practices at the K‐16 levels during the last decade and will continue to do so for years to come. The Authors Recommend: Lafford, B. (ed.). 2007. Second language acquisition reconceptualized? The impact of Firth and Wagner (1997). The Modern Language Journal 91. Focus Issue. This special focus issue of The Modern Language Journal ( MLJ ), the first in the history of the Journal , consists of invited papers that examine ideas about the nature of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) raised in the provocative article published by Alan Firth and Johannes Wirth (F&W; 1997) in the MLJ entitled ‘On Discourse Communication, and (Some) Fundamental Concepts in SLA Research’. Although F&W investigated several issues in their article, their assertion that the cognitive view of SLA as a process occurring in the mind of the individual learner was inhibiting research into more “social, discursive approaches to the nature of the mind” led a number of researchers to revisit the ongoing cognitive‐social debate (p. 287). In the Introduction, Magnan (2007) summarized the two key questions surrounding the debate: “Is acquiring a second language essentially a cognitive process situated in the mind of the learner? Or, is it, first and foremost, a social process because language learning necessarily occurs through interactive use with target language speakers?” (p. 733). The articles investigate aspects of the cognitive‐social controversy and its possible effect on second language teaching and teacher education. Celse‐Murcia, M., Z. Dörnyei, and S. Thurrell. 1997. Direct approaches in L2 instruction: a turning point in communicative language teaching? TESOL Quarterly 31.141–52. In the 1990s, a number of language professionals criticized aspects of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) and proposed changes. The majority of the criticism was related to two main issues: the linguistic content base of CLT; the pedagogical treatment of linguistic forms in CLT. Regarding the former, the scholars pointed to the absence of an in‐depth description of the content base of CLT to be used in syllabus design that would go beyond the language functions and language notions of the late 1970s. Concerning the latter, the researchers observed that CLT proponents were neglecting the development of linguistic competence in their quest to promote the functional‐notional aspects of the language, that is, CLT proponents were not paying the proper attention to grammar instruction. This lack of attention typically translated to teacher avoidance of explicit grammar instruction in the classroom. To remedy this situation, scholars such as Long and Crookes (1992) proposed combining pedagogic tasks with a systematic focus on form, or grammar, as the fundamental organizational units in a communicative syllabus. This article, which appeared in the The Forum section of the TESOL Quarterly because it is a commentary on current trends or practices in the profession, argued that the language learning field was experiencing a paradigm shift toward a “principled communicative approach” that incorporates both direct, explicit grammar instruction and task‐based instruction into CLT (p. 145). Omaggio‐Hadley, A. 1993. Teaching language in context , 2nd edn. Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle Publishers. This renowned tome has been used in countless university Methodology courses since its original publication in 1986. As the author states in her 1986 Preface, the book begins with a complex question that can be easily stated: “How can we help students learning a second language in a classroom setting become proficient in that language?” (p. xi). Using proficiency as the organizing principle, it examines issues in second language learning and teaching, providing the reader with information about the concept of proficiency, methodological trends, and the role of context in the comprehension and production of discourse. The curricular and assessment guidelines for contextualizing practice and testing in the four skills, respectively, and the integrative (including the four skills and culture) classroom activities are an excellent, practical reference for both pre‐ and in‐service secondary teachers, teaching assistants, and trainees. Standards for foreign language learning in the 21st century . 1999. Lawrence, KS: Allen Press, Inc. This tome is critical to understanding the national standards movement in the field of language learning in the United States today. The chapters include a statement of philosophy, the standards for foreign language learning themselves, an Introduction, a review of the current status of language study in the United States, information about how to use the publication, organizing principles, specifics on each of the five standards, that is, the five Cs – Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, Communities, a Conclusion, learning scenarios, frequently asked questions, and appendices with language‐specific standards for Chinese, Classical Languages, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. Bachman, L. (1990). Fundamental considerations in language testing . Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. A significant contribution to the language testing field, this book is a classic. It is an important reference for the language testing professional; it can also be used as one of several textbooks in a graduate‐level Language Assessment course. As the author states in the Introduction, “This book is not a ‘nuts and bolts’ text on how to write language tests. Rather, it is a discussion of fundamental issues that must be addressed at the start of any language testing effort, whether this involves the development of new tests or the selection of existing tests” (p. 1). The book is divided into the following chapters: Introduction, Measurement, Use of Language Tests, Communicative Language Ability, Test Methods, Reliability, Validity, Some Persistent Problems and Future Directions. Higgs, T. (ed.). 1984. Teaching for proficiency, the organizing principle . Lincolnwood, IL: National Textbook Company. The germi