Edu 306 English Subject Methods

NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
COURSE CODE: EDU 720
COURSE TITLE: ENGLISH METHODS
1
THE COURSE GUIDE
EDU 720 ENGLISH METHODS
COURSE DEVELOPER Dr. Uche M. Okonkwo

Faculty of Education
University of Benin
Benin City
COURSE WRITTER Dr. R. B. Danner

University of Benin
Benin City
COURSE EDITOR Dr. Uche M. Okonkwo

School of Education
National Open University of Nigeria
Victoria Island, Lagos
PROGRAMME LEADER Dr. Uche M. Okonkwo

School of Education
COURSE CORDINATOR Dr Dorathy Ufoha

School of Education
Victoria Island Lagos
2
ENG 720 English Methods
CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Objectives
3.0 Main Content
3.1 Introduction to the Course Guide
3.2 A Guide through the Course
3.2.1 Course Aims and Objectives
3.2.2 Course Materials and Structure
3.2.3 How to Get the Most from the Course
3.3 Course Delivery
3.3.1 Tutorials
3.3.2 Facilitation
3.3.3 Counselling
3.4 Assessment
3.4.1 Self Assessment Exercises
3.4.2 Tutor-Marked Assignments
3.4.3 Final Examination
4.0 Conclusion
5.0 Summary
6.0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7.0 References/Further Reading
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Welcome to EDU 720 English Methods, which is a two-credit unit course offered
in the second year to students of the undergraduate degree programme in B.Ed.
English.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
3.0 MAIN CONTENT
3.1 Introduction to the Course Guide
This course guide is for distance learners enrolled in the B.Ed. English
programme of the National Open University of Nigeria. This guide is one of the
several resource tools available to you to help you successfully complete this
course and ultimately your programme.
There are fifteen study units in this course. There are no prerequisites for
studying this course. It has been developed with appropriate local examples
suitable for training prospective teachers of English in Nigeria.
In this guide, you will find very useful information about the course aims,
objectives, what the course is about, what course materials you will be using,
i
available services to support your learning, information on assignments and

examination. It also offers you guidelines on how to plan your time for study, the
amount of time you are likely to spend on each study unit, your tutor-marked
assignments.
I strongly recommend that you go through this course guide and complete the
feedback form at the end before you begin your study of the course. The
feedback form must be submitted to your tutorial facilitator along with your first
assignment. This guide also provides answers to several of your questions.
However, do not hesitate to contact your study centre if you have further
questions.
I wish you the best in your learning experiences and successful completion of this
course.
3.2 A Guide Through the Course
3.2.1 Course Aims and Objectives
Aims
This course aims at giving you an overview of the theories, approaches and
methods in teaching English as a second language. You will learn the methods
and techniques of teaching language skills and sub-skills. You will also learn the
techniques of constructing language test items, scheme of work and lesson plans.
Objectives
There are objectives to be achieved in each study unit of the course. You should
read them before studying each unit. On completion of this course, you should be
able to:
• discuss the major approaches to teaching English as a second language;

• discuss the different teaching methods;
• distinguish the different methods and discuss their merits and demerits;
• discuss the four basic language skills and identify their interrelatedness;
• discuss procedures for teaching the basic language skills and sub-skills;
• discuss how to teach the three different genres of literature;
• identify different types of language tests;
• construct credible language tests; and
• prepare schemes of work and lesson plans.
3.2.2 Course Materials and Structure
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Course Summary
Module 1 introduces you to the major approaches to teaching English as a second

language and the teaching of the four basic language skills. Module 2 deals with
the teaching of language sub-skills including literature-in-English, and techniques
for constructing language tests. It also deals with the preparation of schemes of
work and lesson plans.
There are fifteen study units in this course. Each study unit consists of one
week s work and should take you about three hours to complete. It includes
specific objectives, guidance for study, reading material and self-assessment
exercises. Together with the tutor-marked assignments, these exercises will assist
you in achieving the stated learning objectives of the individual study units.
Study Plan
This table is a presentation of the course and how long it should take you to
complete each study unit and the accompanying assignments.
Weeks/Activity
Unit Title of Study Unit Assignment
Course Guide 1 Course Guide
Form
MODULE 1 MAJOR APPROACHE S TO
TEACHING ENGLISH AS
A SECOND LANGUAGE
1 THE Grammar-Translation Method and the
Direct Method 2 Assignment
2 The Audio-lingual, the Situational-context
and Communicative Teaching Methods 3 Assignment
3 Teaching Listening Skills 4 Assignment
4 Teaching Speaking Skills 5 Assignment
5 Teaching Reading Skills 6 Assignment
6 Teaching Sound Skills 7 Assignment
7 Teaching Writing Skills 8 TMA 1 to be
submitted
MODULE 2 TEACHING LANGUAGE SUB-SKILLS
1 Teaching Vocabulary 9 Assignment
2 Teaching Grammatical Structures 10 Assignment
3 Teaching Reading Comprehension and
Summary 11 Assignment
4 Teaching Literature-in-English 1: Prose 12 Assignment
5 Teaching Literature-in-English 2: Drama TMA 2 to be
and Poetry 13 submitted
MODULE 3 LANGUAGE TESTING
1 Test Types, Functions/Uses, and Qualities
of Language Test 14 Assignment
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2 Basic Steps in Language Test Construction

15 Assignment
3 Writing Scheme of Work and Lesson Plans TMA 3 to be
16 submitted
Revision 17
Examination 18
Total 18
• Now use this overview to plan your personal timetable.
References/Further Reading
Your course material is the main text for this course. However, you are
encouraged to consult other sources as provided for you in the list of references
and further reading below.
References
American heritage dictionary of English Language (2002). 4th

Edition. New York: Houghton Mufflin Company.
Burns, A. (1998). Teaching speaking. Annual Review of Applied

Linguistics, 18: 102 123.
Brine, D. (1998). Teaching writing skills. London: Longman.
Devine, T.G. (1962). Listening skills schoolwide: Activities and

programs. Urbana IL: National Council of Teachers of
English
Emmert, P. (1994). A definition of listening. The Listening Post 51

(6).
Gbenedio, U.B. (1996). Teaching and learning Enlish as a second

language. Benin: New Era Publication.
Goodman, K.S. (1971). Psycholinguistic universals in the reading

process. In P. Pimsleur and T. Quinn (eds). The psychology
of second language learning. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Graham, J. (1994). Four strategies to improve the speech of adult

learners. TESOL Journal 3(3) 26 28.
iv
Lado, R. (1961). Language testing. London: Longman.
Nichols, R.G. (1973). Factors in listening comprehension. Speech

Monographs 15.
Palmatier, R.A. (1973). A notetaking system for learning. Journal

of Reading 17.
Richards, J.C. and Rodgers, T.S. (2000). Approaches and methods

in language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Schmitt, N. (2008). Instructed second language vocabulary

learning. Learning Teaching Research 12 (3), 329 363.
Further Readings
Alderson, J.C, Clapham, C. and Wall, D. (2001). Language test

construction and evaluation. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Allen, V. (1983). Techniques in teaching vocabulary . Oxford:

Oxford University Press.
Allen, M, Noel, R.C, Rienzi, B.M. and McMillin, D.T. (2002).

Outcomes assessment handbook. California State University,
Institute of Teaching and Learning. Long Beach, CA.
Bacha, N. (2002). Testing writing in the EFL classroom: Students

expectations. Forum English Teaching 40 (2), 14 19.
Bailey, K.M. and Savage, L. (1994). New ways in teaching

speaking.
Alexandria, V.A. ( ). Teachers of English to Speakers of other

Languages.
v
Bamford, J. and Day, R.R. (eds) (2004). Extensive reading

activities for teaching language. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Boadi, L.A, Grieve, D.W. and Nwankwo, B.O. (1968).

Grammatical structure and its teaching. Ibadan: African
Universities Press Ltd.
Brent, R. and Anderson, P. (1993). Developing children s

classroom listening strategies. Reading Teacher, 47 (2), 122
126.
Brown, H.D. (2000). Principles of language learning and teaching.

(46th ed.) New York: Longman.
Brown, H.D. (2001). Teaching by principles: An interactive

approach to language pedagogy. Englewood Cliffs, N.J:
Prentice Hall Regents.
Burley-Allen, M. (1982). Listening: The forgotten skill. New York:

Wiley.
Carrel, P, Devine, J. and Eskey, D. (eds) (1988). Interactive

approaches to second language reading. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Carter, R, Hughes, R. and McCarthy, M. (2000). Exploring

grammar in context. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Carter, R. and Long, M.N. (1991). Teaching literature. Harlow:

Longman.
Carter, R. and McCarthy, M. (1988). Vocabulary and language

teaching. London: Longman.
Celce-Murcia, M. and Hilles, S. (1988). Techniques and resources

in teaching grammar. London: Oxford University Press.
vi
Coady, J. (1997). Vocabulary acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.
Dubin, F. and Olstitain, E. (1986). Course design: Developing

programmes and materials for language learning.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Duff, A. and Maley, A. (1990). Literature. Oxford: Oxford

University Press.
Harris, D.P. (1969). Testing English as a second language. New

York: McGraw-Hill.
Hedge, T. (1988). Writing. London:
Howatt, A.P. and Widdowson, H.G. (1985). A history of ELT

1400 to the present. (2nd ed). London: Oxford University
Press.
Koda, K. (2005). Insights into second language: A cross-linguistic

approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Krahnke, K. (1988). Approaches to syllabus design for foreign

language teaching. New York: Prentice-Hall/Regents.
Larzar, G. (1991). Literature and language teaching. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.
Laye, V. (1979). Teaching to read and understand. In E.

Ubahakwe (ed). The teaching of English studies. Ibadan:
University Press.
McNamara, T. (2000). Language testing. Oxford: Oxford

University Press.
Nunan, D. (1988). Syllabus design. Oxford: Oxford University

Press.
vii
Peter, P. (1991). A synthesis of methods for interactive listening.

In M. Celce-Murcia (ed). Teaching English as a second or
foreign language (2nd ed). New York: Newbury House.
Quirk, R. et. al. (1985). A grammar of contemporary English. New

York: Longman.
Raimes, A. (1985). Techniques in teaching writing. London:

Oxford University Press.
Rogers, T.S. (2001). Language teaching methodology. ERIC Digest

September 2001 Issue Paper.
Yorkey, M. (1970). Study skills in English. London: McGraw-Hill.
Vendler, H. (1997). Poems, poets, poetry. Boston: Bedford/St.

Martins.
3.2.3 How to Get the most from your Course
In distance learning, the Study Units replace the university lecturer. The
advantage is that you can read and work through the course materials at your own
pace, and at a time and place that suit you best. Think of it as reading the lecture
instead of listening to a lecture. Just as a lecturer might give you in-class
exercise, your Study Units provide exercises for you to do at appropriate times.
These are called Self Assessment Exercises (SAEs).
Each of the Study Units has common features, which are designed to aid your
learning. The first feature is an introduction to the subject matter of the unit and
how a particular unit is integrated with other units and the course as a whole.
Next is a set of learning objectives. These objectives let you know what you
should be able to do by the time you have completed the unit. You should use
these objectives to guide your study.
When you have finished the unit, you should go back and check whether you have
achieved the objectives. Self-assessment exercises are interspersed throughout
each Study Unit and answers are given at the end. These exercises are designed to
help you recall what you have studied and to evaluate your learning by yourself.
You should do each self-assessment exercise as you come to it in the Study Unit.
Working on these exercises will help you to achieve the objectives of the unit and
prepare you for the assignments, which you will submit and the final examination.
The summary at the end of each unit also helps you to recall all the main points
discussed in the content of each unit.
viii
It should take you about three hours to read the contents of a Study Unit, do the
exercises and assignments. When you have completed the first study unit, take
note of how long it took you and use this information to draw up a timetable to
guide your study for the rest of your course. The wide margins on the pages of
your course book are meant for you to make notes of main ideas or key points
which you can use when revising the course. If you make use of all these
features, you will significantly increase your changes of passing the course.
3.3 Course Delivery
As an open and distance learner, you learn when you interact with the content in
your course material in the same way as a student interacts with the teacher in a
conventional institution. You also learn when you are guided through the course,
however you are not taught by a human being. Instead, your course material is
your teacher, and as such you will not be able to get answers to any questions,
which may arise from your study of the material. It is for this reason that, in
addition to the course material which you have received, the delivery of this
course is supported by tutorial facilitation, and counselling through support
services. Although these services are not compulsory, you are encouraged to take
maximum advantage of them.
3.3.1 Tutorials
The total number of tutorial hours for this course is 8 hours for the semester.
Tutorial sessions form a part of your learning process as you have an opportunity
to receive face-to-face contact with your tutorial facilitator and to receive answers
to questions or clarifications, which you may have. Also, you may contact your
tutorial Facilitator by phone or e-mail. Tutorials also provide opportunity for you
to discuss with classmates.
On your part, you will be expected to prepare ahead of time by studying the
relevant Study Units, write your questions so as to gain maximum benefit from
tutorial sessions. Information about the location and time schedule for facilitation
will be available at your study centre.
Tutorial sessions are optional. However, the benefits of participating in them

provide you a forum for interaction and peer group discussions, which will
minimize the isolation you may experience as a distance learner.
3.3.2 Facilitation
Facilitation is learning that takes place both during and outside of tutorial
sessions. Your tutorial Facilitator guides your learning by doing the following:
• provide answers to your questions during tutorial sessions, on phone or by e-

mail;
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• coordinate group discussions;
• provide feedback on your assignments;
• pose questions to confirm learning outcomes;
• coordinate, mark and record your assignment/examination score, and
• monitor your progress.
The content of this course material is available in print or CD formats, and also on
the university website.
Information about the location and time schedule for facilitation will be available
at your study centre. Time of facilitation is flexible arrangement between you and
your tutorial Facilitator. You should contact your tutorial Facilitator if:
• you do not understand any part of the Study Unit;
• you have a question or a problem with an assignment, with your tutorial

Facilitator s comments on an assignment or with the grading of an
assignment.
3.3.3 Counselling
Counselling forms a part of your learning because it is provided to make your

learning experience easier. Counselling is available to you at two levels,
academic and personal counselling. Student Counsellors are available at the study
centre to provide guidance for personal issues that may affect your studies. Your
Study Centre Manager and tutorial Facilitators can assist you with questions on
academic matters such as: course materials, facilitation, grades and so on. Make
sure that you have the telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of the staff at the
School on which your programme is housed.
3.4 Assessment
There are three components of assessment for this course, namely: Self-
Assessment Exercises and assignments at the end of each study unit, the Tutor-
Marked Assignment and a written examination at the end of the semester. In
doing these assignments, you are expected to use the information gathered during
your study of the course. Below are detailed explanations on how to do each
assignment.
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3.4.1 Self-Assessment Exercises (SAEs)
There are self-Assessment Exercises spread throughout your course material.

You should attempt each exercise immediately after reading the section that
precedes it. Possible answers to the exercises are provided at the end of the
course book; however, you should check the answers only after you must have
attempted the exercises. The exercises are for you to evaluate your learning; they
are not to be submitted.
3.4.2 Tutor-Marked Assignments (TMAs)
There are three Tutor-Marked Assignments for this course. These assignments
are designed to cover all areas treated in the course. You will be given your
assignments and the dates for submission at your study centre. You are required
to do all the three Tutor-Marked Assignments.
Each assignment carries 10 percent and together will count for 30 percent of your
total score for the course. The assignments must be submitted to your tutorial
Facilitator for formal assessment on or before the stipulated dates for submission.
Guidelines for Writing Tutor-Marked Assignment
1. On the cover page of your assignment, write the course code and title,
assignment number (TMA 1, TMA 2), and date of submission, your name
and matriculation number. It should look like this:
• Course Code:
• Course Title:
• Tutor-Marked Assignment: TMA 1
• Date of Submission:
• School and Programme:
• Matriculation Number:
2. You should endeavour to be concise and to the point in your answers and
adhere to word limit where given. Your answer should be based on your
course material, further readings and experiences. However, do not copy
from any of these materials. If you do, you will be penalized. Remember
to give relevant examples and illustrations to support your answers.
3. Make and keep a copy of your assignments.
4. Your answers should be hand-written by you. Leave a margin of about

1.5 inches on the left side and about 5 lines before the answer to the next
question for our tutorial Facilitator s comments.
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5. When you have completed each assignment, make sure that it reaches your
tutorial Facilitator on or before the deadline. If for any reason you cannot
complete your work on time, contact your Study Centre Manager and
tutorial Facilitator for the possibility of an extension. Extensions will not
be granted after the due date unless under exceptional circumstances.
3.4.3 Final Examination and Grading
The final examination for EDU 720: English Methods will be for two hours
duration, and will carry 70 percent of the total course grade. The examination
will consist of questions, which reflect the kinds of Self-Assessment Exercises,
and questions in the Tutor-Marked Assignment, which you have previously
encountered.
All areas of the course will be assessed. You should use the time between
finishing the last unit and taking the examination to revise the entire course. You
will find it useful to review your answers to Self-Assessment Exercises and Tutor-
Marked Assignments before the examination. For you to be eligible to sit for the
final examinations, you must have done the following:
1. You should have submitted all the three Tutor-Marked Assignments for
the course;
2. You should have registered to sit for the examination. The deadline for
examination registration will be available at your study centre. Failure to
submit your assignments or to register for the examination means that you
will not have a score for the course.
Course Marking Scheme
The following table lays out the mars that constitute the total course score.
Assessment Marks
Assignments 1 3 Three assignments each marked over
10%, totaling 30%
Final Examination 70% of overall course score
Total 100% of course score
4.0 CONCLUSION
In conclusion, all the features of this course guide have been designed to facilitate
your learning in order that you achieve the aims and objectives of the course.
They include the aims and objectives, course summary, course overview, Self-
Assessment Exercises and study questions. You should ensure that you make
maximum use of them in your study to achieve maximum results.
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5.0 SUMMARY
EDU720: English Methods provides you with an overview of the approaches to

methods of teaching English as a second language. It is aimed at equipping you
with the various methods, techniques and procedures for teaching the four
language skills and the other language sub-skills. Upon completing the course,
you should be able to choose with ease suitable methods for teaching, listening,
speaking, reading and writing skills and the sub-skills: vocabulary, grammar and
reading comprehension and summary writing. For literature, you should be able to
discuss how to teach the three different genres of literature: prose, drama and
poetry. You will also be able to construct good language tests; objective and
essay test items. You will equally be able to prepare scheme of work and lesson
plans.
xiii
EDU 720 ENGLISH METHODS
COURSE DEVELOPER Dr. Uche M. Okonkwo

University of Benin
Benin City
COURSE WRITTER Dr. R. B. Danner

University of Benin
Benin City
COURSE EDITOR Dr. Uche M. Okonkwo

School of Education
PROGRAMME LEADER Dr. Uche M. Okonkwo

School of Education
COURSE CORDINAT OR Dr Dorathy Ufoha

School of Education
Victoria Island Lagos
xiv
MODULE 1 MAJOR APPROACHES AND METHODS OF

TEACHING ENGLISH AS A SECOND
LANGUAGE: TEACHI NG THE FOUR
LANGUAGE SKILLS
Unit 1: The Grammar-Translation Method and the Direct -9+

Unit 2: The Audio-lingual Method, the Situational Method and the
Communicative Method
Unit 3: Teaching English Sounds
Unit 4: Teaching Listening Skills.
Unit 5: Teaching Speaking Skills.
Unit 6: Teaching Reading Skills.
Unit 7: Teaching Writing Skills

AND STRATEGIES
Unit 1: Teaching Vocabulary

Unit 2: Teaching Grammar
Unit 3: Teaching Reading Comprehension and Summary
Unit 4: Teaching Literature-in-English I: Prose
Unit 5: Teaching Literature-in-English II: Drama and Poetry
MODULE 3 LANGUAGE TESTING
Unit 1: Test types, Functions/Uses, and Qualities of Language Tests.

Unit 2: Basic Steps in Language Test Construction.
Unit 3: Writing Scheme of Work and Lesson Plans.
xv
MODULE 1 MAJOR APPROACHES AND METHODS OF

TEACHING ENGLISH AS A SECOND
LANGUAGE: TEACHI NG THE FOUR
LANGUAGE SKILLS
Unit 1: The Grammar-Translation Method and the Direct Method

Unit 2: The Audio-lingual Method, the Situational Method and the
Communicative Method
Unit 3 : Teaching English Sounds
Unit 4: Teaching Listening Skills.
Unit 5: Teaching Speaking Skills.
Unit 6: Teaching Reading Skills.
Unit 7: Teaching Writing Skills
UNIT 1 THE GRAMMAR-TRANSLATION METHOD

AND THE DIRECT METHOD
CONTENTS
1. 0 Introduction
2. 0 Objectives
3. 0 Main Content
3.1 Status of English Language in Nigeria
3.2 Major Approaches and Methods of Teaching English as a
Second Language
3.2.1 The Grammar-Translation Method
3.2.2 The Direct Method
4. 0 Conclusion
5. 0 Summary
6. 0 Tutor-Marked Assignment
7. 0 References/Further Readings
1. 0 INTRODUCTION
Teaching English as a second language is very demanding especially if the

teacher is not a native speaker of the language. This task can however be
made a pleasurable experience for the teacher if she is exposed to the
concepts associated with its teaching. In order to equip you for this task
therefore, this unit sets out to give you a brief on the status of English
language in Nigeria as well as teach you important concepts and terms used
in the field of language teaching and how you can apply these in teaching
English as a second language. Concepts we will be discussing here include
theories, approaches, methods and techniques as used in the field of
1
language teaching. We will also be discussing two of the major language

teaching methods, namely, the Grammar-Translation and Direct methods.
2. 0 OBJECTIVES
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• discuss the status of English language in Nigeria.
• give the full meanings of these terms and distinguish one from
another L1, L2, FL, ESL
• define theories, methods, approaches and techniques as used in
language teaching and learning
• name the major language teaching methods
• describe the characteristics of the Grammar-translation Method and
the Direct Method
• employ Grammar translation Method and Direct Method
3. 0 MAIN CONTENT
3.1 Status of English Language in Nigeria
Since the introduction of English in Nigeria by the British Colonial

Government, the use of this language has spread beyond the conduct of
government and commerce purposes to include social, educational,
personal and interpersonal affairs. Two reasons account for this spread.
First, was the global significance of English as an international language
and the second was the multilingual situation in Nigeria where there are
about 400 linguistically distinct Nigerian languages. Not even the so called
three main Nigerian languages, Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba, can play the roles
that the English language is playing in Nigeria. Because of its roles in the
various facets of communication in Nigeria, English is considered a second
language ( ESL ) in Nigeria as against French which is considered a foreign
language ( FL ). Given the significant position of English in Nigeria and its
impact on the lives of Nigerians nationally and internationally, its teaching
and learning must be conducted with utmost diligence. EDU 220: English
Methods, is one of the courses designed to teach you how to teach the
English language to your students to enable them use it for various
communicative purposes.
Below are some purposes that English serves in Nigeria and some
important factors you must bear in mind to effectively teach it to Nigerian
students.
2
1. Political/Government Purposes
English is Nigeria s official language, that is , the lingua franca. This is
because it is the language used by the Government in conducting its
affairs , whether at federal, state and even at the local government
levels. It is the language of administration, the judiciary and politics. It
is the language that unites and integrates the various ethnic groups into
the entity called Nigeria.
2. Economic Purposes
The English language is used for economic purposes , for instance,
for business negotiations, for buying and selling, within and outside
Nigeria.
3. Educational Purposes
English is the medium of instruction in most Nigerian schools even
at the primary school level. Teachers teach through English and
learners learn through English. Tests and examinations whether in
elementary, secondary schools or university are conducted in
English. Examinations by public examining bodies such as WAEC,
NECO and JAMB are conducted in English.
4. Social Purposes
Social communication and interaction, at personal and interpersonal
bases are largely done through English. This is especially the case in
most urban cities in Nigeria. Entertainment, information
dissemination by the mass media, such as radio, television and
newspapers, are through English.
In summary, we can definitely say that the English language is the

lingua franca of Nigeria considering the above purposes that it
serves. Given this situation therefore, you as a teacher of English,
must endeavor to teach your students well enough for them to be
able to use English for the various purposes it serves.
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE 1
1. Does English really serve the above purposes in Nigeria? Support

your answer with live examples of instances and situations where
this is evidenced.
2. As a teacher of English, how can you help your students use
English to access information from the Mass media?
3
ENG 720
English Methods
First language ( L1 ) and Second language( L2 )
In the introductory part of this subsection, we noted that English is a second

language in Nigeria. What then is a first language and how does it differ
from a second language? A person s first language or L1, also called her
mother tongue, is the language she acquires form infancy, while her second
language or L2 is the language she learns after acquiring her L1. Note that,
while L 1 is acquired L2 is learnt. Acquisition refers to an unconscious
process that involves the naturalistic development of language proficiency
through understanding a language and through using a language for
meaningful communication. Learning by contrast refers to a process in
which conscious rules about a language are developed. Formal teaching is
necessary for learning to occur, and conscious correction of errors leads to
the development of learned rules. (See Krashen, S., and T. Terrell, 1983 )
For most Nigerians, their native language is their mother tongue and their
L1 while English is their L 2. As we noted above, the process of learning
each of these differs. We need to discuss this difference more in order to
better equip you for your job as a teacher of English
Distinction between First Language Acquisition Process and Second

language Learning Process
As we mentioned earlier on, a first language is acquired from infancy. This

means that the language is not learnt by the individual in a teaching /
learning situation. Rather, the person from infancy picks up the language
orally as she listens and speaks with members of her family and
community. There is no systematically planned effort by her to learn it or
by members of her family and community to teach her the language. She
simply naturally assimilates the language just as she assimilates other
aspects of her community or ethnic culture. Words/vocabulary, phrases and
sentences are effortlessly learnt by the child while interacting with
members of her community. On the other hand, a second language, in most
cases is learnt in a structured formal school setting. For more on first Comment [UM1]: Reference Krashen, S. D. nd
Second Language Learning.
language acquisition and second language learning, read Krashen ( 1981 ).
Comment [UM2R1]:
As a prospective teacher of English in Nigeria, you must be familiar with

the differences between the processes of acquiring first language and
learning a second language. Your B.A. Ed. Programme is preparing you to
teach at the Junior Secondary Schoo( JSS ) and Senior Secondary School (
4
SSS ) levels. Students at these two levels have already acquired their L1
at infancy with all the linguistic habits formed. In order to successfully
teach these students English, you need to learn the following basic factors
that affect L2 learning.
i Sociolinguistic Factors
Your students are no longer infants but grown boys and girls. As
infants, most of them, acquired their first languages effortlessly. Their
languages were spoken all around them in meaningful real life situations.
As they listened to others speak , they responded by speaking to others. It is
not going to be exactly the same in a L2 situation where students are from
varied cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Each already has set ways of
speaking his/her first language. This situation places some demand on you
requiring your creating enabling learning environments where your students
will have ample opportunities to listen to others speak English as well as
speak English to others. You will learn in this course how you are going to
create such enabling learning environment.
ii Psycholinguistic Factors
Students at J.S.S. and S.S.S. levels have developed attitudes, beliefs and
ways of saying and doing things in their first languages that may interfere
with their learning English , a L2. You should as a teacher find ways of
helping these students develop positive attitudes and interest in English
language. You should motivate them to learn English by teaching them
using interesting learning materials, strategies and activities.
1. Distinguish between L1 and L2 acquisition process with appropriate

illustrations
2. What are some of the factors you must consider in order to make
learning English easy for your students ?
3.2 Major Approaches and Methods of Teaching English as a

Second Language
Language teaching has witnessed the development of an array of teaching

methods. However, for the purpose of this course, we are going to focus on
five major ones, namely, the Grammar-translation method, the Direct
method the Situational method, the Audio-lingual method and the
Communicative method.
5
In formal school settings, languages like every other subject such as

Mathematics, Social Studies etc are taught using one method or another or
a combination of methods. Language teaching methods are developed
based on theories of learning from the field of Psychology and theories of
the nature of language from the field of linguistics. These theories
determine the direction or approach a language teacher adopts in preparing
and presenting what language content to teach students and how to test
what has been taught. A given approach for instance will direct the teacher
on the elements of language to select to teach, the strategies and techniques
to employ for teaching and testing what has been selected. In this sub-
section of this unit, we are going to discuss the major language teaching
approaches and methods, their theoretical bases, and the techniques and
strategies associated with them. But before we go into this, we will briefly
define the key terms mentioned above.
• Theory a formulation of basic principles about something,
e.g. the nature of language learning, supported by empirical
evidence and open to confirmation or refutation by evidence
yet to be discovered.
• Approach a set of assumptions about the nature of language
and the nature of language teaching and learning; a
philosophy or point of view.
• Method ( of teaching ) the overall plan for the selection,
grading and presentation of material to be taught, based on an
approach.
• Strategy a particular way of approaching or solving a
problem or task at hand; a mode of operation for achieving a
particular goal or objective
• Technique a particular device, strategy, activity used to
accomplish a goal or objective. ( Adapted from Savignon,
1981 )
3.2.1 The Grammar-Translation Method
Grammar Translation Method was used in the early years of learning

foreign languages such as Latin and Greek. The method involved
studying a second language called the target language, for example,
Latin, through a detailed analysis of its grammar rules, followed by
application of this knowledge to the task of translating sentences and
texts into and out of the language. The learner s first language for
example, English, is used as the means of translating the target
language.
6
• Main Features
ü Emphasis is on the grammar of the target language.

ü Translation is the principal practice technique.
ü Major focus is on reading and writing skills
ü Little or no attention is paid to speaking and listening.
ü Students native language is the medium of instruction.
ü Sentence is the basic unit of language teaching and learning.
• Techniques
ü Reading
ü Translation
ü Deductive teaching of grammar
ü Memorization
ü Writing
Despite its antiquity, the grammar-translation method is still alive and well
in use in language classrooms throughout Europe, Africa, Asia, and the
Americas. It is easy to apply as it makes few demands on teachers.
• Advantages
ü Translation from one language to another is very vital

because comparism between two languages presents a better
understanding of the meaning of abstract words and
complicated sentences.
ü The systematic study of grammatical rules helps in fostering
students ability of reading comprehension and producing
grammatically correct sentences.
ü The focus on the use of literary texts provides the situation in
which reading and writing abilities are developed.
• Disadvantages
ü Overemphasis on translation can never totally free the

learners from dependence on the first language.
7
ü Knowing a large number of grammatical rules cannot ensure

that students can use them in real communicative situations.
ü Too much emphasis is placed on reading and writing while
listening and speaking are neglected. In language
communication, all the four skills are needed.
ü The texts are mostly taken from literary works, which most
often don t meet the practical every day needs of the
learners.
1. Compare the merits and demerits of Grammar -translation method.
3.2/2The Direct Method
Towards the end of the late 1800s, a revolution in language teaching

philosophy took place resulting in the birth of the Direct method. This
period was referred to as the dawn of modern foreign language teaching.
Second language theorists maintain that the first real method of language
teaching was the Direct Method. It was developed as a reaction against the
monotony and ineffectiveness of grammar-translation classes. The Direct
Method was the brainchild of Charles Berlitz, a nineteenth century linguist
whose schools of language learning were famous throughout the world.
The Direct Method is based on the notion that people could learn a L2 easily if
it was taught without using the L1. Essentially, the processes of learning the
new language should mimic the processes of a child learning his/her first
language. Specifically, the method promotes the learning of vocabulary and
phrases of the second language without recourse to translating using the
learner s first language. The ultimate aim is to get the learners to think in
the second/foreign language.
• Main Features of a Typical Direct Method Classroom
ü There are few students in the class.

ü Students take turn reading aloud (mostly dialogues and anecdotal
passages).
ü Teacher asks questions in the target language to test students
understanding.
ü Students respond appropriately in the target language.
ü The question response session is followed by a dictation of the
dialogues or passage by the teacher while the students write down
what they heard.
ü Students would then read aloud the dictation they have written.
8
Technique
Direct use of the target language

Ø Use of small class size
Ø Oral reading of dialogues
Ø Choral[/group reading
Ø Use of dictation
• Shortcomings
ü Its very intensity and small class size make it impossible in

public schools.
ü For the method to be effective the teacher must have an
excellent command of the target language, or better still a
native speaker of the target language.
ü It is teacher- centered or teacher dependent.
By the late 1920s, the method started to decline and there was even a return
to the grammar-translation method. However, the Direct Method continues
to enjoy a popular following in private language schools. It was one of the
foundations upon which the well known Audio-lingual Method took off
from, starting half way through the 20th century.
4. 0 CONCLUSION
To prepare you to face the enormous task of teaching English as a second
language, it is important that you learn the concepts and terminologies
associated with second language methodologies as presented in this unit.
5. 0 SUMMARY
In this unit, you learnt some important issues about the status of English
language in Nigeria and the relevance of this knowledge to your teaching
English to Nigerian students. You also learnt some terms associated with
second language teaching such as theory, approach, method and techniques.
Two language teaching methods namely; Grammar-translation Method and
the Direct Method were also discussed.
9
6. 0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT
1. Compare Grammar-Translation Method with Direct Method
2. Which of them would you choose to teach English JSS 1 students? Give
a reason for your choice
3. Define each of the following as used in second language teaching and

learning: Theory, approach, method, strategy and technique
7. 0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READINGS
Brown, H. D (2000). Principles of language learning and teaching. (4th ed)

New York: Longman
Howatt, A. P & Widdowson, H. G (1985). A history of ELT 1400 to the

present. (2nd ed). London: Oxford University Press
Krashen, S. ( 1981 ) , Second language Acquisition and Second Language

Learning. Oxford: Pergamon Press
Krashen , S., and T. Terrell ( 1983) The Natural Approach: Language

Acquisition in the Classroom. Oxford: Pergamon Press
Richards, J. C & Rodgers, T. S (2000). Approaches and methods in

language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Rogers, T. S (2001). Language teaching methodology. ERIC Digest

September 2001 Issue Paper
Savignon, S. J. (1981) Communicative Competence: Theory and Classroom
Practice. Reading-Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co.
10
UNIT 2 THE AUDIO-LINGUAL METHOD, SITUATIONAL

METHOD AND COMMUNICATIVE METHOD
CONTENTS
1. 0 Introduction
2. 0 Objectives
3. 0 Main Content
3. 1 The Theoretical Basis of Audio Lingual Method
3.1.1 The Audio Lingual Approach to Language Teaching
3. 2 The Situational Method
3. 3 The Theoretical Basis of Communicative Method
3.3.1 The Communicative Approach to Language Teaching
4. 0 Conclusion
5. 0 Summary
1. 0 INTRODUCTION
In the previous unit, you were introduced to the concepts and terminologies
associated with second language learning. Two language teaching methods
were also discussed. This unit is a continuation of the discussion of
language teaching methods. The unit will introduce you to three other
language-teaching methods: the Audio-lingual, Situational and
Communicative methods.
2. 0 OBJECTIVES

• describe Audio-lingual, Situational, and Communicative teaching
methods
• describe the theoretical bases of these methods
• describe the teaching approaches of these methods
• state the principles of each of these methods.
• identify the advantages of using these methods.
• identify the shortcomings of these methods.
• employ these methods in planning, teaching and testing English
language
3. 0 MAIN CONTENT
11
3. 1 The Theoretical Basis of the Audio-Lingual Method
The Audio lingual method dominated language teaching in the 50s and
60s. It was originally labeled the aural oral method because of its
emphasis on listening (aural) and speaking (oral) skills. It was based on the
theories of structural linguists and behaviorist psychologists. The structural
linguists consider language learning as a process of someone learning the
structural patterns that make up the language such as the sound patterns, the
syntactic patterns, the vocabulary and the grammatical patterns. They
advocate therefore that the language to be learnt should be studied and
broken down into the above patterns for purposes of teaching and learning.
The behaviourist psychologists on the other hand theorised that human
beings learnt by habit formation through the process of stimulus response
reinforcement.
You may have observed that the Audio-Lingual method shares the idea of
breaking down the target language into its components parts for purposes of
studying it with the proponents of Grammar- Translation method. The two
however differ in their notion of what the target language should be used
for. While the proponents of the Audio- Lingual method taught the target
language for the purpose of using it to communicate, through listening and

speaking, the other group taught language for the purpose of using it to
translate texts from the foreign language to the first language and vice
versa.
3.1.1. The Audio Lingual Approach to Language Teaching.
The Audio Lingual Method of teaching derived from the above two
theories, adopted a teaching approach that consisted of an analysis and
selection of structural patterns of the target language, commonly used in

everyday situations. These are embedded in dialogues as pattern or
12
structural drills and presented to the learners by the teacher first orally and
much later in written form. The vocabulary content is kept to a minimum so
as to allow the learners concentrate on acquiring the sound, syntactical or
grammatical patterns being taught. The dialogues are learnt by a process
termed mimicry memorization whereby the students learn the sentences
in the dialogues by heart. The teaching procedure consist of the following
steps:
- Teacher presents the dialogues orally by himself / herself or by
using a tape recorder or a language laboratory
- Students listen to the teacher s voice or to the recorded voice to
identify the sounds e.g. phonemic distinctions, stress and
intonation patterns, to recognize the grammatical structures and
new vocabulary in the dialogues.
- Students repeat the dialogues after the teacher as many times as

possible until they can do so accurately and fluently.
The repetition is at first instance by the entire class. Thereafter repetition is
in smaller groups and finally by individual students, until the target sounds
and structural patterns are memorized and repeated correctly. Correctness
is emphasized. If a group falters, the teacher returns to class choral
response. If an individual falters the teacher returns to small group choral
response. The goal is to get every learner to commit to memory the
structural patterns contained in the dialogue. Whether a student or a group
of students repeats the dialogue well, he/she or the group is reinforced or
rewarded by some form of approval by the teacher e.g. praise. Whenever

possible, the dialogues are presented with relevant pictures or drawings to
further enhance students learning. After a particular dialogue has been
learnt by the class, students are guided by the teacher to adapt the learnt
phrase or grammatical structure in other relevant situations. This calls for
13
pattern drills using techniques such as substitution, transformation /

conversion, expansion and combination procedures. Here is an example:
Dialogue: Teaching the expression let s have
Ike: I am thirsty. Are you thirsty, too?
Eze: Yes, I am. Let s have a drink
Adaptation by substitution:
Binta: It is a hot and busy day
Ejiro: Yes, It is. Let s have a shower
The Audio lingual method of teaching gave rise to the massive inclusion of
structural or pattern drills in language text books. After a particular
dialogue has been learnt orally and adaptations of the dialogue made, the
students are led by the teacher to read and write what they have learnt. The
Audio lingual method encourages a teaching learning procedure where the
teacher is the active initiator and controller of learning and the students are
the passive listeners and respondents. The teacher determines the what and
how to learn. The audio lingual method therefore is teacher centred and not
learner centered.
The main aim of the audio lingual method is that students should be able to
comprehend (through listening and reading) and produce (through speaking
and writing) the target language correctly without mistakes or errors. An
advantage of this method according to Rivers (1981) is that students could
attain comprehension and fluency in the target language within a limited
amount of language material very early in their learning experience.
Another advantage of the teaching approach based on this method is that it
encourages the participation of all students through choral repetition of
pattern drills. This is especially useful in motivating the shy or less gifted
students who may learn more easily in a group setting. The approach may
also be appropriate for young children who naturally love to mimic and act
14
out roles because being young they are not restricted by shyness or the fear
of making mistakes.
In spite of the above advantages, the audio lingual method does have its
limitations. For instance, its emphasis on repetition and correctness may
take a lot of class time which may result in the students learning very little
in a class period. Secondly, the teaching approach tends to be mechanical
resulting in students learning like well trained parrots able to repeat
sentences (learnt in dialogues) perfectly when given a certain stimulus but
usually uncertain of the meaning of what they are saying. Additionally,
because the language material to be learnt is strictly selected for a given

context or situation, students often are unable to use memorized materials
in contexts other than those in which that they have learned them. The
teacher therefore has the additional work of ensuring that students begin
early to apply what they have learnt from dialogues to various
communication situations within the class and outside the class. Another
limitation of the audio lingual method is that it may not be suitable for adult
learners and very bright or gifted students who may find the repetition of
pattern drills boring, uninteresting and unchallenging. Such people usually
prefer learning by analysis and logical explanation of rules and principles

underlying the target language as done using the grammar-Translation
method.
A major criticism of the Audio lingual method is that it restricts the
learners by not encouraging them to learn the language through the process
of trial and error. By insisting on correctness, the method kills the natural
tendency of human beings to learn through making mistakes. Additionally,
the method does not present language elements in the manner by which
language is naturally used. In real life, language is used for purposes of
communication. That someone knows some vocabulary and grammar of a
15
given language will not readily equip that person to use the language in
different communicative settings.
In spite of the limitations, associated with the Audio lingual method, it has
continued to be used in language classrooms. It is especially useful when
the teacher wants to ensure that the students are well grounded in the
vocabulary (lexical), grammatical and phonological systems of the target
language. For instance, it could be useful in teaching and testing different
tenses as well as differences between sounds e.g. hit and heat , lick and
leak , fan and van . Stress and intonation patterns of the target language
could also be taught. For instance, the differences between sentences that
are statements, questions and exclamations could be taught effectively
using the Audio lingual method. Here is an illustration:
- She is beautiful. (statement)
- Is she beautiful ? (question)
- She is beautiful ! (exclamation)
Main Features
o Separation of the basic language skills into listening,

speaking, reading and writing with emphasis on the teaching
of listening and speaking before reading and writing.
o Use of Mother Tongue highly discouraged in the classroom.
o The development of language skills is a matter of habit
formulation.
o Use of structured dialogues and drills in practicing particular
language patterns until response is automatic.
o Only everyday vocabulary and sentences are taught. Concrete
vocabulary is taught through demonstration, use of objects
and pictures. Abstract vocabulary is taught through the
association of ideas.
o Use of language laboratory.
Techniques
o Exercises/activities in form of pattern drills using mimicry,

memorization for teaching vocabulary and grammatical
structures
16
o Stresses the use of drills to help learners gain control over

grammatical structure.
o Uses simple varied and graded language activities for
intensive practice of specific features of the language.
- Shortcomings
o Learners are seen as organisms that can be manipulated by

skilled training techniques to produce responses.
o Method is teacher dominated, as materials are primarily
teacher-centered. Doesn t give room for learner creativity.
o The printed material must be kept away from the second
language learner as long as possible.
Despite these shortcomings, the Audio-lingual method is easy to implement

and cheap to maintain. You can adopt most of its techniques in teaching
grammar. These techniques or strategies will be discussed in detail in
Module 2, Unit 2.
NOTE: For examples of language exercises based on the Audio- lingual

method, see Intensive English for Junior Secondary School by Oluikpe
et al (1997)
1. What is the theoretical basis of the Audio lingual method ?

2. What does the Audio-lingual method share with the Grammar-
translation method and the Direct method?
3. Briefly describe the teaching procedure of the Audio lingual

methodologists.
4. Select an English text book used in JSS 2
(a) give the names of the author(s) and the publisher
(b) Take from it a pattern drill and describe a particular grammatical or

phonological structure being taught in the drill.
3. 2 The Situational Method
17
The Situational Method evolved in the United Kingdom as a parallel

method to the Audio-lingual Method. The key difference from the Audio-
lingual method was that the language presentation and practice was
situationalised and so was always given social meaning. Speaking and
listening skills were given prominence in this method. This approach is
based on the belief that if you want to teach the language of a situation you
have to make up the situation in the classroom through the process of role-
playing. One would say that the situational method is a bridge between
Audio-Lingual Method and the Communicative Method.
From the start of the Reform Movement, practitioners made use of
conversation readers in teaching language. This was further expanded in the
1960s and 1970s when several language course books were written
grouping language teaching units around situational themes such as At the
Hairdresser s , The Post Office , At the Market Place and so on. The
dialogues and narratives in these texts centred on the situational themes.
Teachers were expected to produce appropriate teaching materials to
support action-based language used in the defined situations.
• Main Features
ü Use of the three Ps- PPP: Present, Practice, and Produce

ü Use of role play
ü Use of mimes, pictures, etc.
ü Use of contextualized situations
• Shortcomings
ü The major disadvantage of the method is that it is not easy to

describe most situations; in fact some situations cannot be
adequately described.
1. Compare the situational method with the Audio-lingual method
bringing out their similarities and differences
2. Describe two situations you could use to teach English to JSS 2
students.
3. 3 The Theoretical Basis of the Communicative Method
The theory of behaviorist psychologists which viewed learning as a

process of habit formation through imitation and memorization was
18
challenged by another theory, the cognitive code theory. This theory

propounded by Cognitive psychologists viewed learning as involving
one s use of his innate mental abilities. This theory appealed to linguists
such as Chomsky (1966) and Lenneberg (1957) who applied the theory
to language learning. These linguists noted that these innate abilities
explained why a child could learn his first or even his second language
just by interacting with people in his environment. It is these innate
abilities that enable the child to acquire unconsciously the vocabulary,
the grammar of his language as well as the psychological, cultural and
social rules that regulate the use of the language. Both Chomsky and
Lenneberg argued that because of these innate abilities, normal children
are able to identify and acquire (without being taught formally), the
basic lexical and syntactic systems of their language. It is from this
identification that mastery of the language develops and not through the
process of repetition and reinforcement as advocated by the Audio-
linguists.
As Lenneberg puts it,
Obviously, children are not given rules which they can apply.
They are merely exposed to a great number of examples of
how the syntax works and from these examples they
completely automatically acquire principles with which new
sentences can be formed that will conform to the universally
recognized rules of language learning.
(Lenneberg, 1960 quoted in Rivers
1981, pg. 76)
The views of these linguists and others who supported their views, gave
birth to another approach to teaching languages. This is the communicative
approach.
19
1. Which of the two approaches to learning a language would you say

was the process by which your child or any child you know learnt
his/ her first language? Support your answer with at least three
reasons.
3.3.1 The Communicative Approach to Language Teaching
The communicative view of language learning changed the approach to

language teaching from teacher centred to learner centred. This approach
emphasizes language teaching that is built around communicative situations
involving topics and persons /participants performing different roles similar
to those that learners may likely encounter in real life. Thus, instead of
repetition and memorization of dialogues, learning situations requiring
students to act or play roles while using the language are set up by the
teacher. Consideration of what and how to teach the language is made on
the basis of the language needs and interests of the learners. Topics and
contexts therefore must be of the interest of the particular group of learners.

This ensures that the learners get meaningfully involved in learning. The
teacher s role is that of a facilitator of learning. He/she guides the learners

to use whatever knowledge and skills they have in the target language to
express themselves. The Communicative approach has the following as its
tenets:
- There is no insistence on linguistic accuracy in terms of

pronunciation, grammar or vocabulary in the beginning stages of
learning.
20
- Emphasis is on the speaker or writer communicating a message

which is understood. The belief is that with time the leaner will
achieve the desired correctness.
- The four language skills could be taught at the same time, that is
integratively depending on the skills needed in the particular
learning situation, the topic, the roles of the participants and the
purposes of the communicative interaction. This integrative
approach enables learners see the interrelatedness of the four
language skills.
- The basic unit of learning is a meaningful text or discourse e.g. a

paragraph for listening comprehension and a topic to speak on or
write about or a text passage to summarise.
- The text for teaching must be based on situations, topics, and

activities of interest and needs of the learners.
Advantages
Communicative language teaching approach has made very useful
contributions to language teaching and learning. One could easily say
that it has the following advantages:
Ø Helps learners communicate in the language since focus is not on
grammatical or pronunciation correctness but how to understand
and convey meaning in the language.
Ø By not insisting on accuracy, learners are encouraged to speak,
read or write the language without fear of making mistakes.

Ø By basing the what and how to learn on learners needs and
interests, learning is meaningful and purposeful. This makes for
21
possible transfer of what is learnt to similar situations outside the

classroom.
Ø By not teaching the four language skills individually but
integratively, learners are made to use the language in the natural
way.
Ø Uses realistic, motivating and meaningful language activities.
Disadvantages
Ø Where learners do not have many real life opportunities to
practice what they learnt, errors not corrected at the beginning
stages may persist.
Ø Learners who are teacher dependent and shy may be inhibited in
learning by this method.
• Main Features
ü Emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in

the target language.
ü Use of authentic texts into the learning situation.
ü Learners focus not only on language but also on the learning
process itself.
ü Learner s own personal experiences are enhanced as
important contributing elements to classroom learning.
ü Attempts linking classroom language learning with language
activation outside the classroom.
ü Focus on all the components of communicative competence,
not only grammatical or linguistic competence. Engages
learners in the pragmatic and functional use of language.
• Techniques
Use of real life/ authentic texts for reading
Contextualized situations of the real world involving learners to play
roles
Discussions, debates
Reporting of events
Conclusion
All the methods discussed so far are symbolic of the progress second
language teaching methodologies have undergone over the years. As you
22
will notice most of the methods get recycled in different forms, but each
time a new approach develops, it either adds or removes a slightly
different perspective. All of these methods were seen to work at some point
and so none can be discounted. By the mid 1980s there was a gradual
move towards the concept of a broad approach to encompass various
methods. It would be fair to say that if there is any one umbrella
approach to language teaching that has become the accepted norm in this
field, it would have to be the Communicative Language Teaching. CLT
does not teach about language, rather, it teaches language.
5. 0 SUMMARY
In this unit, we discussed three additional second language-teaching

methods: Audio-lingual method, Situational method, and the
Communicative Method. With this background knowledge, you are now
better equipped to teach the language skills, which will be discussed in
subsequent units of this course.
1. a) State three principles on which the Audio-lingual method is based.
b) List and describe three differences between the Audio-language

method and the Communicative Method?
Brown, H. D (2000). Principles of language learning and teaching. (4th ed)

New York: Longman
Howatt, A. P & Widdowson, H. G (1985). A history of ELT 1400 to the

present. (2nd ed). London: Oxford University Press
Richards, J. C & Rodgers, T. S (2000). Approaches and methods in

language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Rivers , W. M. ( 1981 ) Teaching Foreign Language Skills. Chicago : The

University of Chicago Press
Rogers, T. S (2001). Language teaching methodology. ERIC Digest
23
UNIT 3 TEACHING ENGLISH SOUNDS
CONTENTS
1. 0 Introduction
2. 0 Objectives
3. 0 Main Content
3. 1 Teaching Vowel and Consonant Sounds
3. 1.1 Teaching Vowel Sounds
3. 1.2 Teaching Consonant Sounds
3. .1 3 Teaching Stress
3.1. 4 Teaching Intonation
4. 0 Conclusion
5. 0 Summary
INTRODUCTION
Being able to understand and speak any language begins with one s ability
to distinguish correctly the sounds s/he hears as well as pronounce
correctly the sounds of that language so that s/he is understood. When this
is not the case, meaningful communication is marred. You may have had
the experience of having great difficulty understanding someone who is not
of your linguistic group speaking your language. Your difficulty in
understanding what s/he was saying might not have been because of the
person s lack of knowledge of the vocabulary and the structure of your
language but because the sounds the person produced seemed peculiar and
the person s voice rose and fell in unexpected places. You might also have
had the experience of speaking English to a native speaker of English, for
example a Briton or an American and the response you got showed that
s/he did not understand what you said. As with the example above, the
person s difficulty in understanding you might have been due to your
inability to pronounce the words the way a native speaker of English
would.
As a teacher of English you must teach your students to listen and
recognise English sounds in words and sentences so as to produce them
correctly. This means teaching them to listen and learn to distinguish and
pronounce correctly the vowel and consonant sounds in English words as
well as acquire and use the correct articulation, intonation and stress
24
patterns of English. In this Unit you will learn the techniques for imparting
these in your students.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
Reading this Unit will enable you learn the techniques for teaching your
students how to
§ recognize and pronounce English vowel and consonant sounds in
words
§ recognize the differences between pairs of vowel and pairs of
consonant sounds in words
§ pronounce English words and phrases/sentences with correct stress
and intonation
§ recognize the function of stress and intonation in determining if a
sentence is a statement, a question, a command, a request or an
exclamation
§ recognize pronunciation changes brought about by changes in vowel
or consonant positions.
3. 0 MAIN CONTENT
3.1 Teaching vowel and consonant sounds
The English Language has 20 vowel and 24 consonant sounds. This section
will present to you the procedure for teaching samples of these sounds. The
procedure consists of the following steps:
-the sound is presented first in the words it occurs
-the sound is presented in short sentences containing words in which it
occurs
-the sound is contrasted with another sound using a technique called
minimal pairs , first in isolated words and then in short sentences. The
purpose here is to show the students the difference between the sounds
contrasted.
3.1 .1 Teaching vowel sounds
The long vowel sound / i: /
Here are examples of words in which this sound occurs

bee- pronounced / bi:/
key- /ki:/
we- /wi:
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meat /m:it/
seek /si:k/
field /fi:ld/
seize /si:z/
NOTE: for many more examples of vowel and consonant sounds, consult
your course materials on phonetics and phonology. Consult also the
National English Curriculum for Junior and Senior Secondary Schools,
Vols 4 & 2, Intensive English for Junior & Senior Secondary Schools by
Oluikpe et al, 2000, Round Up English by Idowu et al, 2001 for examples
of these sounds and how to select them and teach them.
Sample Teaching Procedure
Step1- Using a tape recorder or your voice, you inform the class of the
sound to be taught. For instance, you say to the class-We are going to learn
to pronounce the long vowel sound /i:/
Step 2- You pronounce the sound yourself explaining to the class the
position of the lips, tongue etc.The students listen to you.
Step 3-students repeat after you while you listen to them and check for
correctness of their pronunciation. Ensure that pronunciation is first by the
entire class and then by individual students.
Step 4- pronounce some words containing the sound while the students
repeat after you e.g. field, beans, Peter etc.
Step 5-say short sentences in which this sound occurs while the students
repeat after you.
Examples - Musa eats meat everyday.
-We will clear the field tomorrow.
Step 6- write words and sentences as in steps 4 and 5 on the chalk board.
Read these to the students who in turn read after you while you listen and
correct poor pronunciation.
Step 7 let your students note the different ways the sound /i:/ is spelt in
English. Examples:
ee ea e i ie ei
bee sea be police field seize
tree meat Peter kerosine piece deceive
Step 8-make your students read a short passage, for example, a dialogue
in which some of the words containing the sound(s) taught are found. The
essence is to make the students pronounce these sounds in a larger context
than they would in single isolated words or sentences. ( Consult text books
in English language eg Intensive English for Junior/Senior Secondary
Schools for samples of passages)
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Step 9 dictate words and sentences containing the sound to students to

write in their exercise books. You go round the class checking students
work.
Note that you started teaching the sound/i:/ by isolating it and then putting
it in context, first in single words and sentences and then in dialogues. This
technique is called situating or contextualizing. The technique enables you
to teach your students that the ultimate use of any sound learnt is for the
purpose of integrating it in words and sentences for meaningful
communication.
Note also that after the oral practice of the sound, you wrote words and
sentences containing this sound on the chalk board and made the students
read these. Finally, you dictated words and sentences containing the sound
to the students to write in their exercise books. The whole essence is to
enable your students recognize and pronounce the sound in oral and written
forms. You were also able to make them use all the skills of listening,
speaking, reading and writing integratively thus showing that language
skills are inter-related or linked. Recall that in Unit 1 of this course material
we discussed the relationship and the inter-relatedness of language sub-
systems and language skills.
The short vowel sound /i/
Examples of words in which this sound occurs

i y e ie
sit nymph pretty ladies
village
fifth rhythm wicked cities
private
rich symbol houses parties
You will teach this sound by contrasting it with the long i: sound. We will
do this by following the teaching procedure a in 3.1 above
Contrasting /i:/ and /i/ sounds
To teach your students the difference between these two sounds you use a
technique called aural/oral discrimination , of pairs of words. This entails
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the comparison of a set of words to bring out or show the difference or

similarity in their pronunciation
Procedure: Follow steps 4-6 as in 3.1
(a) Contrasting pairs of words
/i/ /i:/
lick leak
bit beat
fill feel
(b) Contrasting pairs of sentences with words that contain the two
sounds
(1) Hit the ball. Heat the soup
(2) The dog bit the man. The man beat the dog.
1 Write 10 words which contain the sound /i/

2 Write 10 words which contain the sound /i:/
3 Write 5 pairs of sentences to contrast the two sounds.
NOTE: consult a Standard English Dictionary to confirm the right

pronunciation of the words you wrote.
The short front vowel sounds /e/ and /ae/
i Examples of words in which /e/ occurs
e ea a
met bread any

egg instead many
help weapon
ii Examples of words in which /ae/ occurs

man hand cap
cat sat map
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Teaching procedure as in steps 1-8 in 3.1.
Contrast between /e/ and /ae/
Word contrast: /e/ /ae/
men man
set sat
lend land
Sentence contrast
The men are working. The man is working.

Lending money is a risky business. The plane is landing.
i Write 5 words which contain /e/ sound

i i Write 5 words which contain /ae/ sound
iii Write 4 pairs of sentences to contrast the two sounds.
Consult a standard Dictionary to check for correctness of what you wrote.
The long back vowel /a:/ in word and sentence contexts
Examples of words in which /a:/ occurs

a ar ear er al au
pass part heart clerk half aunt

father star hearth sergeant calf laugh
branch march calm
Word contrast /a:/ /a/
cart cat
car cap
park pack
aunt ant
march match
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Sentence contrast
The motor park is full of travelers I packed the books in boxes
3.1.2 Teaching consonant sounds
The teaching of consonant sounds follows the same procedure as in

teaching vowel sounds. A few examples are given here for illustration.
Contrasting the consonant sounds f and v.

Examples of words in which these sounds occur
/f/ sound / v / sound
fat physics laugh van
sofa alphabet rough leave
Contrasting the two sounds in sentences

1. The van is full of books. The fan is full of cobwebs.
2. He has a fine house. He has a vine garden.
Contrasting the consonant sounds / / and /t /
// /t /
thought naught
path part
thin tin
thank tank
thigh tie
both boat
Contrasting the consonant sounds / ð / and / d /
/ð/ /d/
though dough
then den
they day
other order
these Ds
those dose
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Contrasting the two sounds in sentences
They traveled the day you returned.
The few examples given above are to show you how to teach vowel and
consonant sounds. You should be able to teach any English sound if you
follow the procedure outlined in 3.1 above.
Write four pairs of consonant sounds and contrast them in words and
sentence contexts.
3.1.3 Teaching stress
You will begin by explaining to your students what stress is and its
importance in the sound system of the English language.
Word s
Your students need to know that words are stressed by syllables. You
should tell them that the parts of a word formed by sound combinations are
called syllables. Tell them too that there are words of one syllable and
others of two or more syllables as shown below.
• Words with one syllable: it, an, a, boy e.t.c.

• Words with two syllables: mo/ther, bro/ther, su/gar, con/duct
e.t.c
Teach them that syllables are generally produced with force but some
are produced with more force than others and that such syllables are
said to be stressed. Such syllables are said to have primary stress while
those stressed with less force are said to have a secondary stress. Here
are some words with syllables of primary stress underlined: reason,
mother, three, thirteen.
To teach words of different syllables make a table of these words
beginning from those with fewer syllables to those with more syllables.
Adapt the teaching procedure in 3.1.1 above ensuring that your students
understand the difference in the syllabification of the words.
Grammatical use of word stress
Teach your students that stress is used to make a distinction between

classes of words. A very good example is the distinction between words
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which are spelt the same way but by pronunciation, one is a noun and the
other is a verb. Here are some examples. The stressed syllables are
indicated by capital letters.
Noun Verb
SUBject subJECT
INsult inSULT
PREsent preSENT
EScort esCORT
To teach the difference between the two sets of words adapt the procedure
in 3.1.1 above using word and sentence contexts.
Sentence stress
You should teach your students that stress is often used to give emphasis
on some words at the sentence level when such words are considered
important to drive home the intended message of the speaker. Here are
some examples:
a. I need the money today not tomorrow. Here today is stressed to

indicate when the speaker needs the money.
b. John is expected home at 6 o clock.
c. Musa did not go by air ,he went by road.
1. Explain the reason for the underlined words in sentence b. and sentence
c. above.
2 Write five words of one syllable
3 Write five words of three syllables and underline the syllable with the
primary stress in each word.
4. Write four sentences and underline the words that are stressed. (b)
Explain why the underlined words are stressed.
3. 1.4 Teaching intonation
Intonation is the rise or fall of the pitch of the voice when a person speaks.
It is used to indicate what part of an utterance a speaker wishes to draw
attention to. It is also used to distinguish between a statement made on a
falling pitch and a question asked on a rising pitch. It is also used to signal
exclamation with a rising pitch.
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.
Intonation types and uses
1. Statements
• She is coming.
• Olu likes ogbono soup
2. Questions
• Is she coming?
• Does Olu like ogbono?
3. Commands
• Come here, John!

• Will you stop making noise, Mary!
4. Expression of surprise, admiration or anger
• You made it to our party!
• What a beautiful baby!
• You fool!
To teach intonation types adapt the teaching procedure in 3.1.1
4.0 CONCLUSION
To speak a language, one must first of all recognize and use the sound
system. In learning the English language, this involves recognizing and
using the vowels and consonant sounds and the stress and intonation
patterns of the language. A mastery of the sound system of a language
enables someone to comprehend and speak it well.
5.0 SUMMARY
In this Unit you learnt the importance of someone mastering the sound
system of a language in order to understand it and speak it well. You learnt
the procedure for teaching vowel and consonant sounds as well as stress
and intonation patterns of the English language . You learnt how to contrast
vowel and consonant sounds first in single words and then in sentences.
You also learnt how to teach stress and intonation patterns of English first
in single words and then in sentences.
6.0 TUTOR MARKED ASSIGNMENT
1. Which of the methods of teaching a language would use the

teaching procedure described in this unit? Support your
answer with reasons
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7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Oluikpe, B. O., Obah, T. Y. and Okole, M. K (.1994) Itensive English for Junior
Secondary, Book 2 Ibadan: Africana-FEP Publishers
UNIT 4 TEACHING LISTENING SKILLS
CONENTS
1. 0 Introduction
2 .0 Objectives
3. 0 Main Content
3. 1 What is Listening?
3. 1. 1 Factors that Determine Comprehension
3. 1.2 Types of Listening
3. 1. 3 Goals/Purposes of Listening
3. 1.4 Listening Skills
3. 2 Phases in the Listening Process
3. 3 Strategies for Developing Listening Skills

4. 0 Conclusion
5. 0 Summary
7. 0 References/further Readings
1. 0 INTRODUCTION
In the previous unit, you learned the importance of the sounds, intonation
and stress patterns of the English language and you were taught some
procedures for teaching these. What you learned in that unit was to equip
you to effectively teach the two skills used for oral communication,
namely, listening and speaking. In this unit and the next, we are going to
dwell on the teaching of speaking and listening. These skills are
interrelated, because in a normal communication setting, one can hardly
occur without the other. Speaking for instance does not of itself constitute
communication unless there is a listener or there are listeners to what is
being said. Neither is communication complete unless what is listened to is
understood by the listener(s). Both skills are very essential for personal and
social communication purposes. Enjoyment of and participation in
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community life and thought are possible only by one s ability to understand
other members of the community and for others to understand her/him.
Teaching listening and speaking skills therefore, is of primary importance
if learners are to attain the objectives of meaningful communication in
schools and other settings in the larger society.
Although listening and speaking skills are considered to be interrelated
and therefore ought to be taught together, we have chosen to devote a unit
to each of them to enable us focus attention on specific aspects of each
skill. Bear in mind however, that while you are teaching one skill, you are
also teaching the other.
In this unit you will learn how to teach your students listening skills while
in the next, you will learn how to teach them speaking skills.
2.0 OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit you will be able to

• define listening
• describe factors that determine a listener s comprehension of
utterances
• list and describe purposes for listening
• list and describe types of listening skills
• describe phases in the listening process
• describe strategies/ activities for developing students listening
skills
• assess listening abilities/skills of your students
• conduct a listening comprehension lesson for a given JSS or SSS
class
3.0 MAIN CONTENT
3.1 What is listening?

Listening is an active creative skill that enables someone to comprehend a
speaker s utterance. It is a process by which we receive, construct
meaning from, and respond to spoken messages (Emmert, 1994) The act of
listening involves hearing, thinking, as well as having a good deal of
interest to what the speaker is saying. When we listen to someone speaking,
we hear sounds. These sounds are a combination of several language
components such as words (vocabulary), arrangement of words, (syntax),
stress and intonation (the rise and fall of the speaker s voice).
Comprehending a speaker s utterance requires our mentally processing
these language components in order to create meaning or significance from
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the speaker s utterance. Listening entails three components: the speaker, the
listener and the meaning being shared.
How then do we ensure that our learners understand when they listen to? We
present and discuss below some factors that determine a listener s comprehension
of utterances.
3.1 .1 Factors that Determine a Listener s Comprehension of Utterances
Rivers ( 1981), states that the meaning or significance that a listener

attaches to a speaker s utterance is dependent on three factors namely, the
linguistic information perceived by the listener, the situational context, and
the listener s comprehension of the speaker s intentions. I will add two
more factors. These are: the topic/subject of speech and the listener s
interest and attitude to the speaker.
Ø The linguistic information emitted by the speaker.
This is what the listener perceives aurally of the speaker s utterance.

Linguistic information is made up of sounds, words and their arrangements
and the rise and fall of the speaker s voice. Comprehension occurs as the
listener creates meaning from what she hears. The implication of this is that
when teaching listening skills, selected listening comprehension exercises
must contain mostly vocabulary and grammatical structures your students
are familiar with. Unknown words and grammatical structures must be very
few and should appear in contexts where their meaning is easily
understood. When this is not so, comprehension is impeded.
Ø The situational context
This is the setting in which the utterance was made and will determine the
meaning the listener will attach to the utterance heard. The situational
context will also determine the listener s expectation of what the speaker
would say next. A listener s understanding of an utterance in any
communicative setting will largely be affected by what the listener knows
and understands of the setting. Examples of typical communicative settings
are the market places/shops, classrooms, places of worship e.g.
churches/mosques, political rallies, social gatherings e.g. naming
ceremonies, weddings, birthday parties etc. The implication of this is that
you must teach your students variety of vocabulary and registers of
communicative situations they are likely to come across in their every day
lives. Equipping them thus will enable them learn and understand what
vocabulary and registers speakers will likely use in a given communicative
setting.
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Ø The listener s understanding of the speaker s intentions
Every speaker in any communicative setting has a reason(s)

for speaking. These are her intentions or purposes for speaking. The goal
of any speaker is that her listener/audience would understand her purpose
for speaking. This should also be the listener s purpose for listening. This
however is not the case sometimes. There are instances for example when
you listen to some one and you do not understand the speaker s purpose.
This may not be because you do not understand the linguistic information
in the speaker s utterance. Rather it may be due to a number of other
factors. Such factors include, your lack of knowledge of the topic/subject
the speaker is talking about, or your lack of interest in the topic or speaker
or both. Understanding the speaker s utterance means understanding her
intentions. This understanding has to do with what we know about the topic
and the speaker or persons like the speaker.( examples are: pastors/imams,
teachers, parents, children, friends and political associates). Understanding
also depends on the expectations the situation and previous utterances have
aroused, the tone and nonverbal behaviors ( body language) of the speaker.
All these constitute what Rivers(1981) terms interactional content.
Research has shown that the more the interactional content the more the
listener s understanding of the speaker s utterance. This is because
interactional content gives the listener more insight into the meaning the
speaker intended to encode.
What does this mean to you as a language teacher? This has implication for
planning your listening comprehension lessons. The texts you use must be
interesting and on topics/subjects familiar to your students. Additionally,
the medium ( e.g. video/audio cassette players, television or live voice)
through which you deliver the listening comprehension passage must be
appropriate.
Ø The topic/subject of speech
Comprehension requires a listener s prior knowledge of the theme or topic

of the speaker s discourse. This knowledge enables the listener infer or
guess the speaker s meaning beyond what is contained in the linguistic
information.
Prior knowledge can be activated by the speaker through preparatory
discussion of related topics and by ensuring that key words in the listening
passage are known by the students or have been learnt by them in recent
language lessons. If there are new words in the text you must ensure that
they appear in context where their meanings are easily understood.
37
Students familiarity with the topic or subject of speech is very important.

Understanding is often impeded when we listen to some one speak on an
unfamiliar topic. If for example you select a text in the area of Law or
Government or Economics or Education, you must make sure that your
students are conversant with the vocabulary and registers and general
notions about the particular field of profession. If that is not the case, your
students will have a hard time understanding the text selected.
Ø The listener s attitude/interest to the speaker and topic
Attitude and interest play a vital role in achieving our lives goals.
Positive attitude and interest will yield positive results. The meaning a
listener gets from a speaker depends on the listener s interest and attitude to
the speaker and what she is saying. When we do not show interest to a live
lecture or television/radio programme for example, we will very likely miss
a lot of what the speaker is saying. As a teacher, you must encourage your
students to listen with interest and pay attention when someone is speaking
to them. A useful way of kindling your students interest is by selecting
texts they can connect with. Examples are texts on family, social, political
economic issues at national and international levels. You must also ensure
that the language of the text( vocabulary and registers) is at your students
level of understanding.
SELF-ASSESSMENTEXERCISE 1
1. List and describe three factors that determine a listener s

comprehension of utterances.
2. .How important is it that a teacher considers these factors when

planning a listening comprehension lesson?
3. 1. 2 Types of Listening
There are five main types of listening:
• Informational Listening: In this type of listening, we listen for the

content of the message to get the gist of the message. For example,
when we are listening to a lecture in a classroom, or being given
instruction to carry out.
• Critical /Evaluative Listening: Here, we judge/evaluate the message
we received in terms of its worth or whether we agree with the
speaker or not. For example, we do this at debates, discussion
sessions etc
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• Appreciative /Aesthetic Listening: This type entails listening for

entertainment (enjoyment). For example, listening to music, drama,
concerts, poems, entertaining radio and television programmes etc
• Therapeutic/Empathetic Listening: Listening to support or
encourage others, for example, a sick person, angry person,
disturbed/ worried person
• Inferential Listening: We do this when we interpret a speaker s
message beyond what s/he has said.
If you look at all the above types of listening, you will find that they are for
academic purposes as well as for personal and social purposes. You must
teach your students to develop the ability to perform these types of
listening.
1. Choose any two types of listening and describe two language activities
you would use to develop them.
3. 1. 3 Goals/Purposes of Listening
Listening skills should be taught not as an end in themselves but as means

for attaining specific communication purposes Below are listed some
purposes for listening. You can see that they are closely related to types of
listening discussed above. In this section you will learn of different
purposes of listening and the activities for teaching students the skills for
attaining these purposes.
The National Curriculum for Junior and Senior Secondary Schools

(1985) has listed the following as goals for teaching listening.
• Listening for main ideas
• Listening to follow directions and to note details and
sequence
• Listening to understand a speaker s purpose, tone and mood
• Listening to the same ideas repeated in different words
• Listening for verbatim recall
• Listening for implied meaning
• Listening for critical evaluation in order to express one s
opinion or to judge
39
Other important purposes for listening are:
o Listening in a conversational interchange

o Listening during group discussions
o Listening to identify another viewpoint
o Listening to radio and television programmes
o Listening to someone speak over the phone
o Listening for a sequence of ideas or plot of a story
o Listening to anticipate an outcome
o Listening for exact statements of a speaker
o Listening to identify lexical and grammatical errors
o Listening to distinguish facts from fiction
o Listening for appreciation and pleasure
o Listening for new vocabulary/words
o Listening to recognize relationships expressed or implied
o Listening to learn various subject matter areas
The above list of purposes may seem too many to you but these are
essentially the purposes or reasons why any body would want to listen. It
takes some learning and practice to acquire skills for these purposes,
whether in our mother-tongue or in another language. In the case of English
as a second language, students at various school levels should be taught
how to acquire and use these the skills needed to attain the above purposes.
Describe three purposes for which you often listen.
3. 1. 4 Listening Skills
Broadly speaking, listening skills can be classified into two, namely,

bottom up and top down processing skills.
• Bottom Up Processing Skills

These are basic fundamental listening abilities that a person must acquire in
order to listen with understanding. The bottom up processing skills are
those used for decoding of language into meaningful units. Bottom up skills
you will have to develop in your students include the ability to:
ü discriminate between intonation contours

ü discriminate between phonemes
ü distiguish morphological endings
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ü select details
ü recognize fast speech forms
ü recognize stressed syllables
ü recognize reduced forms
ü recognize words as they link together in connected streams
ü recognize sentence level features in speech/oral discourse.
ü recognize organizational clues.
• Top Down Processing Skills

These are higher levels of listening skills needed in order to
succeed in the art of listening. Top down processing refers to the
attribution of meaning drawn from one s own personal experiences to
language input. Top down processing skills include the ability to :
ü identify a speaker s emotions

ü get the gist of the speaker s message
ü recognize the topic of the speaker
ü use discourse structures to enhance listening strategies
ü identify the speaker s tone
ü evaluate the speaker s views
ü find the main detail(s)
ü make inferences
ü recognize organizing principles of extended discourse.
What would happen if you do not develop bottom up processing listening

skills in your students?
3. 2 Phases in the Listening Process
A way of helping your students develop effective listening ability is to

teach them the phases in listening. Your students knowing these phases
would make them consciously aware of their importance in listening. There
are three phrases in the listening process.
• Pre-Listening phase
At this phase your students need your assistance in activating what they
already know about the idea they are about to listen to. The effective
listening habits you should aim at developing in your students include
teaching them:
41
ü use their background knowledge on the subject to understand

the message being transmitted.
ü have a specific purpose for listening and attempt to ascertain
speaker s purpose
ü tune in and pay attention
ü avoid being distracted
• During Listening
Effective listening habits you should teach your students to develop

include during a listening exercise are:
ü giving complete attention to the listening task and demonstrating

interest.
ü searching for meaning.
ü constantly checking their understanding of message connections,
making and confirming predictions, making inferences,
evaluating and reflecting.
ü knowing whether close or cursory listening is required, adjust
their listening behaviour accordingly.
ü being flexible note makers, outling, mapping, categorizing
sifting and sorting information received.
ü taking fewer, more meaningful notes.
ü distinguishing the context and of words.
• After Listening
At this phase, students act upon what they have heard to clarify meaning
and extend their thinking. Useful effective listening habits to be
developed in your students include encouraging them to:
ü withhold judgement till comprehension of message is complete

ü follow up on presentation by reviewing notes, clarifying and
reflecting and acting on the message received
ü evaluate message based on facts presented and previous
knowledge of the topic presented.
ü draw conclusion based on facts presented
ü present by speaking or writing one s own points of views on the
message heard.
42
1. Give two reasons why you should teach your

students to give complete attention to the listening
task and demonstrate interest in the message they are
listening to.
3. 3 Strategies for Developing Listening Skills
Perhaps the most valuable way to teach listening skills is for you the
teacher to be a model, creating an environment through positive interaction,
actively listening to your students and responding in an open and
appropriate manner. As much as possible try to minimize distractions and
interruptions. It is important that you provide numerous opportunities for
your students to practice listening skills and to actively engage in the
listening process. There are several strategies that you can use to prepare
your students for listening experiences. You can:
1. Ask your students to listen to radio, television and live speeches at

home and social events, using the sample listening guide below. The
listening guide serves to focus the students attention on the content,
organization, or devices used by a speaker/speakers as shown below.
Students are to complete the guide after listening and make their
reports to the class.
Sample Listening Guide
• Name of Student:
• Nature of Spoken Presentation: e.g. political, social, economic,
cultural etc
• Where heard:
• Name of Speaker:
• Topic /Subject
• Speaker s expressed purpose:
• Main ideal(s) and implied ideas presented:
• Noteworthy features of presentation: eg the speaker s tone, manner
of presenting her/his points of views, the way she/he argued her/his
• Student s reactions to speaker s views
• In what ways was the talk effective or ineffective? Why:
(Adapted from Devine, 1982)
2. Teach your students to look out for the following when listening to a
speaker: :
• Structure of the speech(e.g debate, short stories, essay, poetry, play)
43
• Organizational patterns ( that is the order of the presentation e.g.

logical, chronological/ sequential).
• Transitional devices such as words or phrases used to indicate:
ü Examples: for example, for instance, thus, in other words, as an

illustration.
ü Time: first, second, third, meanwhile, next, finally, at last, today,
tomorrow, soon.
ü Addition: in addition, also, furthermore, moreover, another.
ü Result: as a result, so, accordingly, therefore, thus
ü Contrast: however, but, in contrast, on the other hand,
nevertheless.
3. Teach your students how to make notes. Note-making is the act of

listening and jotting down salient points heard. Although, listeners
need not capture on paper everything they hear, there are times that
students need to focus on the message and so will need to record
certain key words and phrases. Students can adopt the Verbatim
Split-page Procedure (VSPP) to develop note-making strategies. Ask
your students to divide their notebook/paper so that 40% of each
page lies to the left and 60% to the right (Palmatier, 1973). Students
should take brief notes on the left hand side only. They should use
the right hand side to develop their notes after listening, reorganizing
and expanding what they scribbled on the left hand side.
Sample VSPP
40% 60%
4. Develop a curriculum plan for teaching listening skills to your

students. Here is a format you could adopt. The format is taken from
the National English Curriculum for Secondary Schools, published
by the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (
NERDC)
Unit Topic Performance Content Teaching procedure: teacher s & Materials/Teaching

Objectives class activities aids
Students will be a. Written 1. Teacher explains to students the 1.A passage
able to: passage(s) to meaning of main ideas in speech recorded on a
a. Identify main a. listen and be read out or written text and the importance tape and a
ideas in a passage identify main orally by the of developing the ability to player
ideas teacher. identify main ideas. 2.A reading
in a passage.
44
ENG 720
English Methods
passage
b. Answer b. listen and b. tape
questions on a summarize the recorded 2a. Teacher plays a recorded
passage. main ideas in passage(s) or passage or reads a passage while
speech (es) heard or short students listen.
passage(s) read. conversation( 2bTeacher asks students to
s) identify main ideas/points in the
passage they listened to and
explain why they consider the
points they chose as main ideas.
2c. Teacher asks students to
summarise the main ideas in their
own words.
Follow Students will be Selected 1.Teacher plays a recorded 1. A tape recorder

directions/proced able to follow recorded or passage or reads a selected 2. A recorded
ure or sequence simple and complex reading passage containing instructions on passage
of performing a directions/instructiopassages of how to perform certain tasks. 3. A reading passage
task, an ns on how to: appropriate 2. Students listen to the passage
assignment or an a. do an assignment difficulty and perform tasks/activities
activity. or an activity level required by the instructions.
b. use an appliance containing
or medicine. instructions
c. get to or locate aon how to
destination perform
certain
tasks/activitie
s
Students will be 1.Selected Teacher asks students to listen to Radio and television
a. Identify main able to listen in radio or specific radio or television sets in the class
ideas/points of a order to: television programmes featuring discussions where it is possible to
discussion or a. identify points programmes in the classroom or at home. have these.
debate made by others featuring Teacher listens to the same
b. Argue a point b. agree or disagree discussions, programmes and asks students
made by a with an opinion debates questions that will make them
speaker made by another 2. Selected identify main points made by a
c. Disagree or person topics for speaker, dispute a speaker s point
agree with an students to of view etc.
opinion discuss or
expressed by debate on.
someone.
45
4. 0 CONCLUSION
Effective listening skills help students to listen meaningfully to utterances.

What you have learned in this unit will help you develop your students
listening skills for academic, personal and inter-personal purposes..
5. 0 SUMMARY
In this unit we discussed what listening is, its nature, kinds and purposes.
We also looked at the listening process and how to develop listening skills
in your students. In the next unit you will be introduced to the second of the
aural oral skills: speaking.
1. What listening skills do you consider essential for Senior Secondary

School students?
2. Why must you include bottom up processing skills when teaching

listening?
3. Briefly describe the phases in the listening process.
4. Do a curriculum plan as shown above to teach
a) Listening to identify a speaker s tone and mood.
b) Listening for a sequence of ideas in a story.
Brent, R. & Anderson, P (1993). Developing children s classroom listening

strategies. Reading Teacher, 47(2), 122 126
Burley-Allen, M (1982). Listening: The forgotten skill. New York: Wiley
Devine, T. G (1962). Listening skills school wide: Activities and programs.

Urbana IL: National Council of Teachers of English
Emmert, P (1994). A definition of listening. The Listening Post 51(6)
Nichols, R. G (1973). Factors in listening comprehension. Speech

Monographs, 15
Palmatier, R. A (1973). A notetaking system for learning. Journal of

Reading, 17
46
Peter, P (1991). A synthesis of methods for interactive listening. In M.

Celce-Murcial (ed). Teaching English as a second or foreign
language (2nd Ed) New York: Newbury House.

UNIT 5 TEACHING SPEAKING SKILLS
CONTENTS
1. 0 Introduction
2. 0 Objectives
3. 0 Main Content
3. 1 What is Speaking?
3. 1. 1 Goals of Teaching Speaking.
3. 2 Language Features involved in Speaking
3. 3. Factors that Influence One s Ability to Speak
3. 4 Functions of Speaking
4. 0 Conclusion
5. 0 Summary
7. 0 References/Further Reading
1. 0 INTRODUCTION
Recall that in the previous unit, we noted that oral communication involved
speaking and listening and that in a normal communication situation,
neither could occur without the other. In that unit we discussed the teaching
of listening. In this unit, we are going to discuss speaking skills and what
you should do to teach them well to your students
2. 0 OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit you should be able to:
• define speaking
• state the goals of teaching speaking
• name the language features involved in speaking
• discuss the functions of speaking
47
• outline the lesson procedures and activities for teaching speaking
3. 0 MAIN CONTENT
3. 1 What is Speaking?
Speaking is a complex cognitive process. It is an interactive process of

constructing meaning, which typically involves receiving, processing and
producing, information. This can be through the use of verbal or non-
verbal symbols. Speaking is context bound, that is, its form and meaning
depend on the context in which it takes place. The context includes the
participants ( speakers and listeners), their collective experiences, the
physical environment and the purpose for speaking.
3. 1. 1 Goals for Teaching Speaking
The purpose of teaching your students speaking skills is to ensure that they
can:
• recognize English sound patterns and produce English sounds

correctly
• express their thoughts using words, sentence structures and
registers, appropriate for given social settings/situations, audience
and subject matter of discussion
• express themselves using correctly, the stress, intonation patterns
and rhythm of English.
• organize their thoughts in a meaningful and logical order.
• use the English language as a means of expressing values and
judgments.
• speak the English language fluently.
ü .
3. 2 Language Features involved in Speaking
There are two groups of features involved in speaking. These are the
segmental and the supra segmental features of a language. The ability to use
these features, enables some one to speak a language fluently. Although we
had discussed these under the unit on teaching sounds, we will discuss them
again in this unit because of their importance in speech development.
48
• Segmental Features
Segmental features are the basic units of sounds which combine to form
the spoken language. These are called phonemes and they serve to
distinguish words from one another. You can teach your students this
distinction through discrimination exercises of sounds using minimal pairs.
For example teaching the English vowel sounds in words like bee and tea,
see, and tea. Refer to Unit 3 of this course material where we have
many examples of sound discrimination exercises.
• Supra segmental Features
Supra segmental features include; stress, rhythm and intonation.
• Stress: This is the combination of length, loudness and pitch applied

to syllables in a word. All words that have more than one syllable
have word stress. What this means is that at least one of the syllables
is longer and louder than the other syllable(s). Most often your
students may simply learn word stress as they acquire new
vocabulary. You should however teach your students some rules for
identifying word stress such as shown in the following:
o Compound noun: The first part of the compound word is

stressed. For example; BLUEbrid, BLACKboard, NOTEbook
etc
o Phrasal verbs versus Compound nouns:
let DOWN LETdown
In the above examples the stress pattern is different. For

phrasal verbs the stress is on the preposition while in the
compound noun the first part gets the stress.
o Words with same spelling but different pronunciation and
meaning.
In this case the part of speech changes with the word stress.
Noun Verb
record re cord
progress pro gress
In the above example, if the word is used as a noun, the first syllable gets
the stress while, the second syllable gets the stress in verbs.
49
• Rhythm: This is the regular patterned beat of stressed and unstressed

syllables and pauses in a sentence. For example: He WANTS to
EAT later.
• Intonation: This is the variation of pitch of the voice when speaking.
In English, intonation is used to convey some ideas or concepts, such
o as surprise, irony or to change a statement to a question. For
example:
He did not say you stole my red shirt
Nothing is particularly stressed in the above sentence, so the meaning is

quite obvious. However, the meaning of the same sentence will change
depending on the word that is stressed.
HE did not say you stole my red shirt.
Someone else said it not him.
He did not say YOU stole my red shirt.
It is not you but someone else
He did not say you STOLE my red shirt.
Maybe you borrowed it.
1. With some illustrations, distinguish between segmental and supra
segmental features of English language, and explain why it is important that
you teach these to your students .
3. 3 Factors that Influence One s Ability to Speak
The ideal goal for teaching your students to speak is for them to acquire
native-like pronunciation. However, certain factors make this goal
unattainable. These factors include:
1. Age: Some studies have revealed that after puberty; Lateralization

(the assigning of linguistic functions to the different brain
hemispheres) is completed and adults ability to distinguish and
produce native-like sounds is limited. This is also referred to as the
50
Critical Period Hypothesis . This hypothesis states that if humans

do not learn a second/foreign language before a certain age, then due
to changes such as maturation of the brain, it becomes impossible to
learn a second/foreign language like a native speaker. (Graham,
1994).
2. Home/ School/Community Environment: The amount of exposure to

spoken English that your students have at home/school/community
will affect their speech pattern.
3. Individual Ability: Due to biological and physiological differences,

some of your students will be more sensitive to and better at
imitating sounds than others.
4. Attitude: Students attitude toward the target language, culture and

native speakers can support or impede their speech development.
Describe three factors that that are necessary for one to develop
his/her ability to speak.
3. 4 Functions of Speaking
Speech is usually used for purposes of interaction, transaction and

performance.
o Talk as Interaction
You are not new to conversation. Talk as interaction is the same as

conversation. When you meet people, you exchange greetings, engage in
small talk, recount recent experiences etc. You do these because you want
to be friendly and wish to establish a relationship with others. The main
features of talk as interaction include the following. It:
o acts as a social function.

o shows role relationship.
o reveals speaker s identity.
o is formal or casual
o reflects degree of politeness, familiarity
For your students to effectively use talk as interaction you need to teach
them how to do the following:
51
o Open and close conversations

o Choose topics to speak on
o Engage in small talk
o Joke
o Recount personal incidents and experiences
o Take turns in discussions, debates etc
o Use appropriate style of speaking for formal and informal
settings and respecting standard speech ethiquete
o Talk as Transaction
Examples of talk as transaction include, classroom group discussion,

asking someone for direction, buying something in a shop, ordering food
from a menu in a restaurant etc. For your students to use talk as transaction
effectively you will need to teach them the following skills.
o Explaining a need or intention

o Describing something
o Asking questions
o Making requests
o Asking for clarification
o Confirming information
o Justifying an opinion
o Clarifying understanding
o Making comparisons
o Agreeing and disagreeing with some body
o Talk as Performance
This last type of talk refers to public talk, that is, talk that transmits
information before an audience. This is one area where students are afraid.
They panic when you ask them to stand before an audience to make a
speech, for example at debates. You will have to teach your students the
following skills to be effective speakers. Teach them how to:
o use appropriate formats of presenting information in

logical/chronological sequence.
o maintain audience involvement creating an effect on the
audience.
o use appropriate vocabulary and registers for given audiences
o use appropriate opening and closing remarks
52
State three functions of speaking.
4. 0 CONCLUSION
Speaking is key to communication. You should monitor your students

pronunciation/speech production patterns in English to determine what
skills they already have and what areas need development. By determining
what speaking tasks your students can perform and what specific skills
your students need to further acquire, you can help them improve their
speaking and overall oral competency.
5. 0 SUMMARY
In this unit we discussed what speaking is, the goals of speaking and the
features involved in speaking. We equally discussed certain factors that
inhibit speech and ways you can help your students develop skills in using
speech to interact, transact and perform/.
1. State three goals for teaching speaking in secondary school.
2. Explain the differences among the following utterance.

.
Jane will travel to Abuja next week.
JANE will travel to Abuja next week.
Jane will travel to ABUJA next week.
Jane will travel to Abuja NEXT week.
Jane will travel to Abuja next WEEK.
7. 0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING
Bailey, K. M & Savage, L. (1994). New ways in teaching speaking.

Alexandria VA: Teachers of English to Speakers of other Languages
Brown, H. D (2001). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to

language pedagogy. Englewood Cliffs, N. J: Prentice Hall Regents
53
Burns, A (1998). Teaching speaking. Annual Review of Applied

Linguistics 18: 102 123
Graham, J (1994). Four strategies to improve the speech of adult learners.

TESOL Journal 3(3) 26 28
UNIT 6 TEACHING READING SKILLS
CONTENTS
1. 0 Introduction
2. 0 Objectives
3. 0 Main Content
3. 1 What is Reading?
3. 1. 1 Goals of Teaching Reading
3. 2 Reading Approaches and Methods
3. 2. 1 Language Experience Approach
3. 2. 2 Basal Reading Approach
3. 3 Types of Reading
3. 3. 1 Loud and Silent Reading
3. 3. 2 Skimming and Scanning
3. 3. 3 Extensive and Intensive Reading
3. 4 Barriers to Reading
4. 0 Conclusion
5. 0 Summary
1. 0 INTRODUCTION
The teaching of reading can be viewed from two perspectives. First, it can
be taken to mean the teaching of initial reading in the second language,
English. Secondly, it may refer to teaching aimed at improving the reading
skills of those who have already learned to read in English . In this unit, our
aim is to focus on improving students reading skills, which is the second
perspective.
2. 0 OBJECTIVES
• define reading.
54
• state the importance of teaching reading.

• list and describe different reading approaches/methods.
• list and describe different types of reading.
• identify barriers to reading.
3. 0 MAIN CONTENT
3. 1 What is Reading?
Reading is an active receptive skill, which entails comprehension and

analysis of information presented in writing or print. It is an essential part
of language mastery. The reading process involves the interaction between
the reader and the text.
3. 1. 1 Goals of Teaching Reading
As the aim of this unit is on how to improve the reading skills of your
students, you should encourage them to:
o comprehend texts written in English when studying English as a
subject and when studying other school subjects, e.g. Mathematics
o read a wide range of texts in English outside the classroom.
o acquire a wide range of vocabulary, phrases and grammatical
structures which would facilitate reading.
o adapt a reading type appropriate to a given purpose of reading.
o read to comprehend and recall main and detailed ideas, infer implied
meanings, compare and contrast opinions, evaluate opinions etc
3. 2 Reading Approach /Method
There are a variety of approaches and methods for teaching reading. These
include the phonic, whole word, whole sentence, language experience and
basal reading approaches. The first three of these are based on the Audio
lingual approach/method of language teaching while the last two are based
on the communicative approach/method of language teaching We are
however, going to focus our discussion on just the last two , namely
language experience and basal reading approaches.
3. 2. 1 Language Experience Approach/Method
This approach although an recommended for teaching initial reading in

second language is equally useful in teaching students who are already
reading but with difficulties. You may thus find it very useful particularly
55
in the junior secondary classes as a remedial approach for improving your

students reading proficiency.
The Language Experience approach uses the child s experiences as the

content for reading. What this means is that the learner s oral language and
his/her environment form the basis of the reading content. Typically, the
approach involves the use of a written record of the child s experiences,
planned cooperatively by the pupils and the teacher. This plan is kept on a
chart known as the experience chart. You should encourage individual and
small group recording and reporting of experiences.
You can use the Language Experience Approach to develop your students
reading by following these steps in your class.
1) Encourage your students to talk about events in their lives, for

example, journeys they made, parties they attended, problems they
encountered and incidents they witnessed etc
2) Students write these experiences in charts. If it is a small class of 15
20 students, each student writes his/her experiences and reads
these out to the class. Your role is to guide and correct the students.
3) You can also write these experiences your self on the chalk-board
as the students narrate them. (You may find this very tasking
especially if you have a large class size). If the class is large, then
organize it into small groups. Appoint a leader for each group. The
leader will write in the chart the experiences of the group on a
common incident
4) Let the students read these write ups while you provide the needed
guidance for correct pronunciation of words and correct intonation
and reading fluency. Your students will find the exercise very
interesting, because the content of the story is theirs and the
vocabulary and expressions used are within their proficiency level.
3. 2. 2 Basal Reading Approach
The Basal Reading Approach is the most widely used method in the
teaching of reading in the Nigerian school system. This approach uses a
method of reading instruction, which is highly controlled in terms of
vocabulary, language expressions/phrases , grammatical structures and
levels of reading skills being developed. Basal reading approach, uses
commercially published course books which usually consist of the student s
course reader, workbook or practice book as well as the teacher s
handbook. Examples of basal readers used in Nigeria include Oxford
English Course Book Series, Evans English Course Book Series,
56
Macmillan English Course Book Series, Intensive English course book

series etc.
These basal readers are written and developed in collaboration with

specialists in English language, language educators and language
curriculum developers. These readers provide a sequential and controlled
programme of reading instruction in such areas as pronunciation, word
recognition/distinction, development of vocabulary, comprehension skills,
and grammatical structures. Most basal readers contain several controls,
one of the most important being vocabulary. The words selected are
determined in part by earlier studies of word list compiled to show the
frequency of use of words at various reading levels.
• Advantages:
ü They provide carefully designed sequence of reading skills

developed throughout the programme.
ü They are prepared with different grade levels in mind, for
example, Primary 1 6 or JSS 1 to JSS 3.
ü Student s workbook/practice book provides adequate practice
for your students if properly used.
ü Teacher s handbook contains a lot of useful materials and
guidance , which can aid you in teaching.
ü Nearly all the basal readers contain attractive illustrations,
which attract students interest.
• Disadvantages:
ü Basal readers are followed rigidly as students are made to

read the same stories irrespective of their varied individual
reading interests and needs.
ü In some cases stories are not typical of the experiences
encountered by the majority of the students.
1. Compare basal reading and language experience approaches noting their

merits and demerits.
2. Take a students course book of any basal reading series, and study one
of the lesson units. Note down all the language areas being taught.
3. 3 Types of Reading
Reading is essentially a process of decoding a written text. It has various
purposes, such as reading for academic purposes, personal interest, pleasure
57
or for gaining information. Your purpose for reading will determine the
type of reading to adopt. There are various types of reading you can teach
your students to equip them to read for different purposes. Six of these will
be treated in the subsequent sub-sections.
3. 3. 1 Silent and Loud Reading
• Silent Reading
Most of our daily reading is done silently. It is the natural way of reading.
Silent reading involves individual reading without vocalization. No sounds
must be made, no lisping. Silent reading is ideal and helps an individual
student comprehend what he is reading. This type of reading is especially
useful to a student who needs to concentrate to absorb and reflect on what
he/she is reading. This type of reading is recommended for doing
assignments, preparing or writing examinations. You must help your
students develop the ability to read silently by giving your class a few
minutes during class to read silently.
• Loud Reading
Loud reading involves vocalization or reading out loud. It involves reading

aloud to other people s hearing. When we read aloud our concentration is
divided. This makes reading difficult and may cause problems of
comprehension. However, there are situations when you may have to read
things aloud when others do not have access to the materials. You can also
use this type of reading to encourage your students to read aloud so that
you can find how fluently they can read. It will also help you to guide your
students pronunciation, intonation and general speech fluency. You will be
developing both reading and speaking skills at the same time using this.
3. 3. 2 Skimming and Scanning
• Scanning
Scanning is a quick reading process with the primary focus of locating a

particular information. It involves quick eye movements, in which the eyes
wander until the reader finds the specific piece of information he/she is
searching for. It is used when specific piece of information, such as key
words like names, date, symbol, formula or phrase is required or when
some one is looking for a particular topic in a table of content of a book.
58
The reader knows what he/she is looking for and so knows when he/she
locates it.
• Skimming
Skimming is reading for the essential meaning. It is a quick reading process

to get to know how a passage is organized, that is, the structure of the text:
heading, sub-headings, title etc. It can also be used to get an idea of the
writer s intention or the theme of the passage.
Skimming is a more complex task than scanning because it requires the

reader to organize and remember some of the information given by the
author, not just to locate it. Skimming is a tool by which the author s
sequence can be observed unlike scanning by which some predetermined
information is sought after.
3. 3. 3 Extensive and Intensive Reading
• Extensive Reading
Extensive reading refers to a relatively rapid style of reading typically of

longer texts, which are judged to be within the language proficiency of the
student. It involves students reading long texts or large quantities for
general understanding with the intension of enjoying the texts. There are
only a few tasks or comprehension exercises associated with the texts or
there may be none at all. Reading novels, newspapers, poems etc are forms
of extensive reading.
For extensive reading, students are allowed to choose the books they read
depending on their interests, and there is not always a follow-up discussion
or work in class. In this way you encourage your students to read for
pleasure and become better readers.
o Features of Extensive Reading
ü Reading Materials
Extensive reading involves a large selection of books. You will have
to make available a large quantity for students to choose from at
their level.
ü Students Choice
Students choose what they want to read based on their interest.
59
ü Teachers Role
The teacher s role in extensive reading procedure is to encourage
and help students with their reading.
Students are put off reading when it is tied to class assignment. You can ask
your students about books they are reading informally and encourage
occasional mini-presentation of the books review but these should not be
seen as obligations by the students.
• Intensive Reading
Intensive reading refers to a careful reading where the aim is to gain

complete comprehension of the text. Here the reader aims at a detailed
comprehension and analysis of a short passage. Intensive reading is
recommended for academic purposes where the goal is to study and learn. It
requires concentration by the student and often needs that the student reads
silently. Texts for intensive reading are generally short (often around 500
words) and at a language level judged to be slightly above the reader s
proficiency level. It usually has a high proportion of tasks to be done or
questions to be answered by the student at the end of the reading. In order
to complete the tasks the students may have to resort to frequent re-reading
of the text.
Examples of tasks/ exercises your learners may after an intensive reading

of a passage include:
o Looking for main and detailed ideas.

o Understanding what is implied as against stated ideas.
o Making inferences.
o Making judgment of what the author wrote
o Looking at the order or sequence of information and how ideas are
linked from paragraph to paragraph.
o Identifying transition words that indicate change from one
paragraph to another.
Compare each of these : silent and loud reading, skimming and scanning,
intensive and extensive reading.
3. 4 Barriers to Reading
o The Reading Process
60
Reading is the translation of symbols or letters into words and sentences.

When you read you must follow a sequence of symbols or letters arranged
in a particular order. In English we read from left to right, in Hebrew from
right to left and in Chinese from top to bottom.
You can easily observe how people read. Ask your colleague or course
mate to read a book, preferably one produced with large prints. He/she
should read it holding it just below his/her eye level. Watch his/her eyes,
you will notice that, rather than making one smooth sweep across the page,
his/her eyes move sporadically, going forward with a jump and then
pausing. This type of jumping movement is referred to as saccadic
movement . This stopping and starting movement is essential, since the eye
can only take in information when it is not moving. When the eye is
motionless, it takes in part of a sentence and then moves on to the next part,
so that, in fact we read sentences in small chunks.
o Factors that slow down Reading Speed:
1. Faulty visual perception, that is limited perceptual span which

invariably leads to word-by-word reading
2. Slow perceptual reaction time, that is slowness in recognition
and response to materials.
3. Vocalization (reading aloud). This slows down reading speed
4. Head swinging, finger pointing or pencil/pen pointing can
slow reading speed.
5. Sub-vocalization (murmuring, making unnecessary sounds).
You can however help your students to overcome these problems through
constant practice under timed conditions.
4. 0 CONCLUSION
Reading is a receptive skill and there are various types for different
purposes.. Knowing what each of the different types of reading entails and
when to use them will help you make better choices with your learners.
5. 0 SUMMARY
In this unit, we looked at what the reading skill is all about and the reasons
why you should teach it. We also discussed two different
approaches/methods to teaching reading: Language experience and basal
61
reading approaches and the different types of reading. Some factors

responsible for students slow reading speed were also highlighted.
1. a) State two goals of teaching reading at the secondary school level.
b) Which reading approach will you recommend for remedial

purpose in a junior secondary school class?
3. Match the columns on the left with the definitions on the right.
Reading Type Definition

Skimming Reading shorter texts to extract accurate detailed
information
Scanning Quickly reading a text to get the gist of it.
Extensive Quickly going through a text to find a particular
piece of information.
Intensive Reading longer texts usually for pleasure.
Bamford, J & Day, R. R. (Eds) (2004). Extensive reading activities for
teaching language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Carrel, P; Devine, J; & Eskey, D. (Eds) (1988). Interactive approaches to

second language reading. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Gbenedio, U.B. (1996). Teaching and learning English as a second

Goodman,K. S. (1971). Psycholinguistic universals in the reading process.

In P. Pimsleur & T. Quinn (Eds). The psychology of second
language learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
62
UNIT 7 TEACHING WRITING SKILLS
CONTENTS
1. 0 Introduction
2. 0 Objectives
3. 0 Main Content
3. 1. Purpose, Audience and Types of Writing

3. 2 The Writing Process
3. 2. 1 Hints to Enhance Students Writing
3. 3 Types of Writing
3. 3. 1 Correction of Written Composition
4. 0 Conclusion
5. 0 Summary
1. 0 INTRODUCTION
How to develop learners writing competence remains an arduous task for

the English language teacher. In this unit, we will take a close look at what
writing entails, its very nature and the process of writing. We will also
review the different types of writing. Finally, we will discuss how to correct
your students written work.
2. 0 OBJECTIVES
By the end of this unit, you should be able to:
• define writing.
• describe the nature of writing.
• identify the different stages in the writing process.
• state the different types of writing.
• correct student s written composition.
3. 0 MAIN CONTENT
Writing is a productive skill. When we write we use graphic symbols, that

is, letters or combinations of letters, which represent the sounds we make
63
when we speak (Byrne, 1979). These symbols need to be arranged properly

to form words, and then sentences in paragraphs.
3. 1. Purpose, Audience and Types of Writing

For you to successfully launch your students into the art of writing, there
are three main issues in writing that you will have to take them through.
These are:
• Purposes/Objectives of Writing
Writing is defined by its purpose which is the goal or intention of the

writer.
The goals of writing vary and are of the, following types:
(i) taking notes at lectures or when you read;
(ii) summarising e.g the main ideas of a text;
(iii) answering test or examination questions;
(iv) describing an incident, event, an experience;
(v) describing a process, procedure and event, an object or a person;
(vi) persuading someone or people;
(vii) exposing an idea, a procedure, a belief a philosophy.
The last four are usually in form of essays or composition.
• Audience
In any form of communication, the aim is the transmission of ideas from

one person to another. In the case of writing the audience is not physically
present. However, you should have at the back of your mind the target
group you are writing the piece for. You should be able to ask yourself such
questions as: Who is going to read this piece? For whom am I writing? Are
they: familiar known (friends, family, peers), extended known (community,
student body, local media), extended unknown audience (wider range of
media, other publications)?
• Types
There are various types of writing which include reports, letters,
composition / essays and summary. Your purpose of writing
will determine type of writing you are going to do.
What three issues should guide some one embarking on writing
64
3. 2 The Writing Process: Useful Tips for Writing

Essays/Composition
(i) Choosing a topic You give a topic to your students to write on.
(ii) Planning Guide them to think about the topic and gather related
ideas or points.
(iii) Shaping Show them how to organise the ideas into sections/
paragraphs in a related and orderly manner to signal relationship of
ideas. Teach them that a good coposition must have introduction,
body and conclusion
(iv) Drafting Teach them how to write the ideas in appropriate
sentences arranged in paragraphs. Teach them the use of link words
such as additionall, then, next etc in linking ideas, paragraphs.
(v) Revising Students revise their work under your guidance. Based
on their evaluation, they make decisions on whether to re-write
the draft of their work by adding, deleting, rewording or reorganising.
(vi) Editing Under your guidance students edit their work by checking the
technical correctness of grammar, flow of expression and punctuations.
3. 2.1 Hints to Enhance Students Writing
Teach your students to do the following things to enhance their writing

skills:
1. Write on topics / ideas they are familiar with when ever they have a
choice.
2. When given questions to answer, read through the questions
carefully before writing their answers, for example, in
comprehension and summary exercises.
3. Write full meaningful sentences.
4. Vary sentence and paragraph lengths.
5. Vary sentence constructions.
6. Ensure correct sentence agreement/concord.
7. Use the most suitable tense
8. Use direct speech/dialogues with discretion.
9. Write numerals in words unless for dates and monetary amount or
an instruction.
10. Avoid:
- repetition of words at the beginning of sentences. E.g., I went

to the market. I met my friend. I talked with her for over an
hour.
65
- Overusing adjectives and adverbs.

- Overusing words.
- slang (except you are using it in direct speech to make a
point.)
- redundancy and tautology
- verbosity
- unnecessary big words
3. 3 Types of Writing
There are various types of writing as shown below. Each has a format
basically different from the other.
• Narrative Writing
A narrative tells a story or gives an account of events or incidents. The

introduction usually indicates time and setting and introduces the
characters. The body is made up of a number of paragraphs. This series of
events contains the development of the plot. Use of past tense and in the
first or second person (I, he, she, they, them) dominate this type of writing.
• Descriptive Writing
Descriptive writing paints a picture with words. You may be required to

describe a person, place, situation, process or even feelings. This type of
writing relies on details and requires suitable vocabulary, descriptive
powers and creativity. The present tense is often used. Adjectives, adverbs
and figures of speech should be used appropriately.
• Argumentative Writing
In this type of writing you have a belief, a point of view or an opinion and
your aim is to influence or persuade your audience or readers to agree with
you. You take a stand and support your opinion. Appropriate use of
connecting words such as; furthermore, of equal importance, in addition, it
is clear etc, rhetorical questions and repetitions may be used for emphasis.
• Letter Writing
There are different types as shown below:

- Informal/Personal letters: Letters to friends and families
66
- Formal/Official letters: Letters of complaint, requests, job

application (Use of Curriculum Vitae CV), letter to the editor; a
formal letter expressing your point of view on an issue.
Curriculum Vitae CV: our students will be required to include their CV in

job application letters so it is necessary that you teach them how to write
CV. A CV is a comprehensive biographical statement of your personal
details, achievements and activities. Below is a typical sub headings of a
CV.
o Personal Data
o Qualifications
o Work Experience (if any)
o Hobbies/Interest
o References
• Feature Article
A feature article appears in a newspaper or magazine to inform, persuade or

entertain. It addresses social, cultural or political issues it is more detailed
than a news report. The writer states his/her opinion on the subject. It has a
short eye-catching heading.
1. Write a sample of a curriculum vitae in response to an

advertisement for a job for the post of a teacher of English in
a senior secondary school.
2. Describe the stages in the writing process.
3. Mention three things to check for during the editing stage of
the writing process.
3. 3.1 Correction of Written Composition
Correcting students written composition is time consuming especially with

the large class sizes we have in most of our public schools. Nevertheless we
must find some ways of correcting our students composition. There are
two approaches you can adopt in correcting your students work.
1. Write corrections on each student s paper, underlining the errors

with red biro to make them clearly visible for the student. Your
students are then expected to do these corrections.
67
2. Write detailed comments explaining grammar points, raising

questions concerning meaning and logical development, suggesting
alternative wording and re-organizing the text. This is surely a more
effective method, but very tedious to use in a large class. However,
its results are rewarding, as your students will learn better because
you will be able to go beyond simple correction. You will provide
explanations for your suggested changes. You can also use students
errors, which are repetitive in nature as samples for correcting the
structure.
4. 0 CONCLUSION
The written mode is important for communicating our ideas, thoughts

and even for recording our thoughts. We can always read our writings
and reflect on the ideas at a later date. Teaching your students how to
write, would prepare them not only for writing for academic purposes
but for writing for life.
5. 0 SUMMARY
In this unit, you were introduced to what the writing skill is, its nature,
types and stages in the writing process. You were also given hints on
how to enhance your students writing. We also discussed approaches
you could use to correct students written composition.
1. Write a sample of an argumentative composition titled, Civilian

rule is better than a military rule to use to teach students of
SSS 2.
2. Write your Curriculum Vitae and a letter applying for a job in

any Nigerian bank.
Bacha, N.(2002). Testing writing in the EFL classroom: Students

expectations. Forum English Teaching 40(2), 14 19
Byrne, D. (1988). Teaching writing skills. London: Longman
Hedge, T. (1988). Writing. London: Oxford University Press
68
Raimes, A. (1985). Techniques in teaching writing. London: Oxford

University Press

AND LITERATURE IN ENGLISH
Unit 1: Teaching Vocabulary

Unit 2: Teaching Grammar
Unit 3: Teaching Reading Comprehension and Summary Skills
Unit 4: Teaching Literature-in-English I: Prose
Unit 5: Teaching Literature-in-English II: Drama and Poetry
UNIT 1 TEACHING VOCABULARY
CONTENTS
1. 0 Introduction
2. 0 Objectives
3. 0 Main Content
3. 1 What is Vocabulary?
3. 2 The Need for Vocabulary Acquisition
3. 2. 1 How learners Acquire Vocabulary
3. 2. 2 Techniques for Teaching Vocabulary
3. 3 Word Formation
3. 3. 1 Prefixes
3. 3. 2 Suffixes
3. 4 Integration and use of Acquired Words
4. 0 Conclusion
5. 0 Summary
1. 0 INTRODUCTION
Vocabulary acquisition is a very important step in language learning.

Learners need to broaden their vocabulary in order to express themselves
clearly and appropriately in different situations. The greatest challenge
inhibiting the ability of your students to read at appropriate grade level can
be attributed to lack or insufficient vocabulary. This unit will address the
basic issues involved in vocabulary development, which include, strategies
69
for acquiring vocabulary, word formation and how learners integrate and
use acquired words.
2. 0 OBJECTIVES
• state the importance of vocabulary in use of language

• distinguish between conscious and incidental vocabulary acquisition.
• describe the different strategies you can use in teaching vocabulary.
• state the different ways of word formation.
• describe how words acquired are integrated and used.
3. 0 MAIN CONTENT
3. 1 What is Vocabulary?
Vocabulary or lexis are words used in a particular language. Your students

can understand a written text if they know the meanings of majority of the
words in the text. Vocabulary is very crucial for a learner s language
proficiency because it facilitates language production and fluency.
Why is vocabulary acquisition crucial in language learning?
3. 2 The Need for Vocabulary Acquisition
Learners need to acquire a large amount of lexical items in order to use a

language effectively. Learners need to understand about 98% of the words
in a text in order to understand the main idea, or guess the meaning of the
other words in the text using contextual clues. For an un-simplified text,
this means about 5,000 8,000 words (Schmitt, 2008). This is a great task
to achieve.
Many of the lexical items learners need to know are chunks . Chunks are
related words or expressions we learn as global units, which include
collocation, fixed and semi-fixed expressions and idioms. E.g. by the way,
all over the world, never mind, back and forth etc.
70
3. 2. 1 How Learners Acquire Vocabulary
In teaching vocabulary, perhaps one of the first problems you will face is
what to teach and how. Should your focus be on teaching lexical items by
themselves or guiding students to acquire vocabulary through using various
approaches to reading,? The guiding principle should be to use any means
or approaches that would help your students acquire sufficient vocabulary
to be able to use the language fluently. Using language experience , basal
reading , and extensive reading approaches for instance would lead your
students to build up their vocabulary knowledge. When ever the need arises
for you to teach specific vocabulary items do not hesitate to do so if that
would help your students. Such instances allow you to employ the Audio-
Lingual procedure of language teaching. You should however as much as
possible, teach these lexical items in situations/contexts to enable the
students understand their meanings.
It is widely accepted that vocabulary teaching should be part of the
syllabus, and taught in a well-planned and regular basis. Most of the basal
readers in use in Nigeria deal extensively on vocabulary development.
These are grouped around words such as; household items, parts of the
body, food, family members, sports, travel etc
3. 2. 2 Techniques used in Vocabulary Teaching
• Guided Discovery
This strategy involves asking your students leading questions or giving

them clues for instance on a reading passage, that will guide them to guess
the meanings of words correctly. In this way they get involved in the
process of semantic processing that helps learning.
• Contextual Guesswork
You can also teach your learners how to deduce meaning of words by
making use of the context in which the word appears. In some cases, they
can guess from the word itself through the knowledge of the word
formation. For example knowledge of the meaning of a prefix or suffix
added to a root will help the learner in guessing the meaning of a word.
(Word formation will be treated in the next section.) Identifying the
function of a word in the sentence, e.g. verb, adjective, noun etc can also
help you to guess the meaning of the word.
71
• Using Dictionaries
A good dictionary is a necessary companion of a second language learner.

Apart from using it to check meanings of words, students will be able to
check pronunciation, the function of the word e.g. verb patterns, verb
forms, different spellings (American/British) style, as well as sample
sentences that illustrate the use of the word.
• The use of synonyms and antonyms
Asking your students to supply word synonyms or antonyms can help build
up their vocabulary. You should stress the fact that when words are
substituted in a passage it must be in the same word class, e.g. a noun for a
noun or a verb for a verb.
You can encourage your students to get a small exercise book or index
cards in which they enter any new words they learn. It should indicate
meaning, pronunciation, and sample sentences to illustrate the use of the
word. The class as a whole can also keep a vocabulary box with cards,
which can be used for revision or recycling regularly.
State three techniques you can use in teaching your students new words.
3. 3 Word Formation
Learners can increase their vocabulary through knowledge of word

formation. There are several ways of creating new words in English
language. These include affixation, compounding, clipping, blending,
borrowing and so on. We will however concentrate on the process of word
formation through affixation in this course.
o Affixation is the process by which affixes combine with root words

to form new words.
o Affix is a bound morpheme, which attaches to a base (root/stem).

They are either prefixes or suffixes. Examples are , re, un,tion,ty etc
o Prefixes are attached to the front of a base, e.g. re- rewrite
o Suffixes are attached to the end of a base, e.g. -al critical
72
What is affixation?
3. 3. 1 Prefixes
Learners will be able to infer the meaning of a word if they know the
meaning of the prefix.
Prefix Meaning Word class Examples

non- Negation/opposite Noun Noun nonstarter
Adjective Adj - nonpartisan
un- Reverse action / Verb untie, undo
opposite quality Adjective unsafe, unhappy
re- Repeat action Verb retie, rewrite,
Noun reunion
3. 3. 2 Suffixes
Suffixes most often change the word class of the base.
Suffix Word class Word class Examples

changed to
-ity Adjective Noun electric electricity
obese obesity
-ous Noun Adjective fame famous
glamour glamorous
-al Noun Adjective institution institutional
-able Verb Adjective print printable
drink drinkable
-ize Adjective Verb concrete concretize
A word can contain both prefix and suffix. E.g. prearrangement . This can
be broken into:
Prefix pre (before)

Base arrange (verb)
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Suffix ment (changes word class to noun)
Vocabulary is the most sizeable and unmanageable component in second

language learning. You will need to encourage your students to explore all
means to develop their vocabulary.
3. 4 Integration and Use of Acquired Words
The way our memory works offers some insights into how we integrate and
use words that we acquire. Learning new words involves storing them first
in our short-term memory, and later in the long-term memory. We however
do not have conscious control over this process. There are some important
clues to help you in the use of acquired words.
o Retention in short-term memory is ineffective if the number of

chunks exceeds seven. This therefore means that you should not
teach more than this number. Our long-term memory can however
hold any amount of information.
o Our mental lexicon is highly organized and efficient. Semantically
related words are stored together.
o Frequently used words are easily retrieved.
o Forgetting is an inevitable process in human life, unless you use
words you have learned regularly, there is the tendency that you will
forget them. Recycling is vital and ideally this should be done as
frequently as possible.
1. Write five examples of prefixes.
2. Write five examples of suffixes

4. 0 CONCLUSION
Vocabulary development is crucial to language proficiency. Your students

need to adopt both conscious and incidental approach in the acquisition of
vocabulary in order to build up a sizeable vocabulary. You should therefore
use different strategies to achieve this purpose.
5. 0 SUMMARY
In this unit, we discussed the importance of vocabulary acquisition by

learners if they are to develop proficiency in using a language. We also
discussed some techniques that learners could use to acquire a wide range
74
of vocabulary, such as contextual clues, synonyms, antonymys and

affixation. Finally, we looked at the role memory plays in word storage and
retrieval and how this could aid your vocabulary teaching.
1. a) Name two techniques learners can use in learning new words
b) State two methods of word formation and give five examples of

each.
Allen, V (1983). Techniques in teaching vocabulary. Oxford: Oxford

University Press.
Carter, R. & McCarthy, M (1988). Vocabulary and language teaching.

London: Longman.
Coady, J. (1997). Vocabulary acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press
Quirk, R. et al (1985). A grammar of contemporary English. New York:

Longman
Schmitt, N (2008). Instructed second language vocabulary learning.

Language Teaching Research 12(3), 329 363
75
UNIT 2 TEACHING GRAMMAR
CONTENTS
1. 0 Introduction
2. 0 Objectives
3. 0 Main Content
3. 1 Meaning of Grammar
3. 2 The Role of Grammar in Second Language Teaching
3. 3 Methods of Teaching Grammar
3. 3. 1 Deductive Method
3. 3. 2 Inductive Method
3. 3. 3 Eclectic Method
3. 4 Techniques for Teaching Grammatical Structures.
4. 0 Conclusion
5. 0 Summary
1. 0 INTRODUCYION
Grammatical structures have played a central role in language teaching and

learning. The general goal of any systematic instruction in any language is
to enable learners of the language, particularly in a second language
situation to acquire knowledge of the structural patterns of the language.
This is to facilitate communication. Thus, in this unit, the discussion will
focus on what grammar is, its role in second language learning and the
different methods and techniques of teaching grammatical structures.
2. 0 OBJECTIVES
• define the term grammar .

• state the role of grammar in second language learning.
• identify the features in the different methods of teaching grammar.
• construct suitable substitution tables/dialogues/pattern drills for
teaching specific grammatical structures
• write out the steps used in the different methods of teaching
grammar.
76
3. 0 MAIN CONTENT
3. 1 Meaning of Grammar
The word grammar has been variously defined. One of the definitions
listed in the American Heritage Dictionary of English Language (2002),
states that grammar is a normative or prescriptive set of rules setting forth
the current standard of usage for pedagogical reference purposes . This
definition seems to echo Gbenedio s (1996) view, that for the layman,
grammar is seen as a set of normative rules that determine the correctness
of our language use . This means that for a sentence to be correct, it has to
conform to some set rules. Thus, grammar provides us with the structure we
need in order to organize and put our messages and ideas across.
Define grammar.
3. 2 The Role of Grammar in Second Language Teaching
Grammar plays a definite role in language teaching. The question you need
to ask yourself is: How do I teach grammar? In other words: How do I help
my students learn the grammar they need to communicate effectively?
Most teachers of English as second language recognize the need for
teaching the grammar of the language. In Britain and North America,
where English is the Mother Tongue, teachers have seen and accepted the
need for adequate knowledge of the grammatical forms of the English
language.
Grammar is to language what anatomy is to the human body. Since

grammar is the means by which we can understand how a language works,
a definitive study of grammar is essential in language study, second or
foreign language.
3. 3 Methods of Teaching Grammar
Grammar can be taught in different ways: deductive grammar teaching,

where rules are taught explicitly using grammar-translation method,
inductive grammar teaching, where grammar rules are taught implicitly.
using audio-lingual method, and eclectic grammar teaching, where
deductive and inductive approaches are used as the need arises..
77
3. 3. 1 Deductive Method
The deductive method, also known as top down approach is one where
the teacher explains the grammar rules to the students who learns these
rules and then applys them in responding to exercises on grammar.. The
principle behind this method is based on the rationale that learners need to
understand the elements of the linguistic system of a language before
putting them into practice. With this understanding plus memorization and
frequent use, learners are sure to internalize the structures. The teacher
plays a major role in this method.
For example to teach the use of the ending -d , -ed and - ied with
verbs in the simple past tense (regular form) a typical lesson using this
method will take the following steps:
• Lesson Outline
Step I: Start the lesson with a warm-up exercise to review students prior
knowledge on the simple present tense.
Step II: State the objective of the lesson clearly by defining the rules and
applying them to verbs with which the students are familiar.
There are three ways in which the simple past tense can be formed in the
regular form:
• Add -d to verbs ending with the vowel letter e
dance danced
refuse refused
• Add -ed to verbs ending with consonants
end ended
attend attended
• Add -ied to verbs ending with the letter y (delete y first)
try tried
bully bullied
Step III: Give further illustrations with a number of examples. Write the
verbs in three columns, one for each rule. Ask students to identify the rule
used in the formation and state the reason.
Step IV: Let the students provide additional examples on their own.
78
Step V: Ask students to sum up what they have learned throughout the
lesson.
Step VI: Give students an assignment to be turned in and discussed for the
next session.
3. 3. 2 Inductive Method
The inductive method is also known as bottom up approach and

advocated for by the Audio-lingual methodologists, is based on the
assumption that exposure to comprehensible language use will result in the
internalization of the linguistic system. This process may be conscious or
unconscious or a combination of the two.
In this method learners are not taught rules directly but are left to discover
the grammatical rules by themselves or induce the rules from their
experience of using the language. The role of the teacher is to guide the
learners. By guiding the learners, the teacher leads the learners to look for
similarities and differences, and generalize their observations, form and test
hypotheses and discover how the language works.
For example to teach the use of the ending -d , -ed and - ied with
verbs in the simple past tense (regular form) a typical lesson using this
method will take the following steps:
• Lesson Outline
knowledge on the simple present tense.
Step II: Continue the lesson by writing some relevant sentences on the
board.
o The First World War ended in 1918.
o He attended a party last week.
o They danced gracefully at the party.
o They refused the gift.
o Tolu tried to jump back.
o Adamu bullied all the little boys in his class.
Prompt the students to supply the present tense form of the verbs
underlined in the sentences.
Present Past
end ended
attend attended
79
dance danced
refuse refused
try tried
bully bullied
Step III: Pose questions that are focused on the notion that the verbs used in
the above sentences have the following endings -d , -ed and -ied
Step IV: Having made the students understand the rules, let them relate
what they found out in the lesson and give examples of their own.
Step V: Divide the class into several groups and ask them to verify the rules
and give reasons for their verification.
next session.
Mention one striking difference between the deductive and inductive

methods of teaching grammar.
3. 3. 3 Eclectic Method
This method combines what is best in both the deductive and inductive
methods. The teacher is expected to first give students examples of the
grammatical structures to be learned. After the students have analysed the
structures to discover the underlying rules or patterns and have extensively
practiced the structures, they are guided to form a generalization about the
grammatical form they have worked with.
To further enhance learning, the teacher later states explicitly the rules and
patterns or generalizations governing the grammatical structures to confirm
what students have discovered on their own. This method places a lot of
emphasis on practice, which comprises of a sequence of activities broken
into three stages: Exploration, Explanation and Expression.
To teach, for example, the use of the simple past tense ending -d , -ed
and - ied of regular verbs, a typical lesson using this method will take the
following steps:
80
• Lesson Outline
knowledge of the simple present tense.
Stage 1: Exploration
Step II: Write the following sentences on the board and ask students to state
the grammatical patterns in the underlined verbs.
o The First World War ended in 1918.

o He attended a party last week.
o They danced gracefully at the party.
o They refused the gift.
o Tolu tried to jump back.
o Adamu bullied all the little boys in his class.
o
Draw students attention to the underlined verbs in the sentences. Let them
see the underlying rules. Let them identify the different endings: -d , -ed
and -ied . Together with the class discuss the pattern, which can be
observed.
Stage 2: Explanation
Step III: Discuss the rules, which the students have identified in step II to
make the connection between the examples and the explicit rules.
There are three ways in which the simple past tense can be formed in the
regular form:
o Add -d to verbs ending with the vowel letter e

dance danced
refuse refused
o Add -ed to verbs ending with consonants
end ended
attend attended
o Add -ied to verbs ending with the letter y (delete y first)
Try tried
Bully bullied
Step IV: Give students more meaningful examples of how and in what
situations the rules can be used.
81
Stage 3: Expression
Step V: Divide students into pairs and give them tasks to tell their partners
what they had done in the past
.
next session.
3. 4 Techniques for Teaching Grammatical Structures
There are various techniques that you can use to teach your students
grammatical structures. These include substitution tables, dialogues and
pattern drills.
v Substitution Table
A substitution table is a format where sentences are set out in their simplest
forms. The table is planned in such a way that some of the words can be
substituted with other words and you still maintain the same sentence
pattern. Its usefulness includes:
- Quickest and easiest way of introducing new structures.
- Can be used to stamp out common errors.
- Very useful in teaching English tenses.
Here is an example to teach the present forms of the verb to be

Sample A
A B C D
I traders
She are a farmer
He am teachers
We clerk
They is
Your students can construct up to eighteen sentences from this table. They
can also add new phrases to column A and B and construct additional
sentences.
Here is another sample. Can you tell what grammartical structure is being
taught by this table?
Sample B
1 2 3 4
You attended to by next Tuesday.
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They examined by 30th December.

All the class promoted by the time we get home.
Some of the would have paid before Monday next week
students been seen by the before midnight
None of doctor before the next meeting.
them fed before we leave.
The tailor
Your students can construct well over 200 sentences from this table. Divide
the class into groups and ask students to make sentences from the table.
They can also add phrases to columns 1, 3 and 4.
v Dialogues
Dialogues are used as a form of natural method of teaching a language. The

teacher acts as the model, while students imitate him/her. Class activities
such as debates can be organized to use dialogues.
Dialogues include question and answer chains. Questions you ask should be
ones that enable your students make sentences in the required patterns.
Sample Dialogue (Use of the verb form have)
Efosa: I m sorry I m late. Have you been here long?
Alero: No, only for a few minutes.
Efosa: What will you eat?
Alero: I haven t decided. Have you ever eaten Amala and Ewedu ?
Efosa: No, I haven t. Is it good?
Alero: It s delicious. I have had it several times.
Efosa: How about Edikangkon ? Have you ever had it?
Alero: Actually, I did my National Youth Service (NYSC) at Uyo in Akwa-

Ibom State. I ate it a lot there
Efosa: I didn t know that. When was that?
83
Alero: Two years ago.
v Pattern Drills
Pattern drills are designed to allow you to practice sentences and phrases
you have taught your students. There are several drill types.
o Repetitions students repeat after the teacher like a parrot.
o Substitution similar to substitution table format but not in a

tabular form Example:
James has gone to school.
Mary has gone to school.
She has gone to school.
o Expansion making the sentence longer. Example:

They have come. (just)
They have just come. (Lagos)
They have just come from Lagos. (air)
They have just come from Lagos by air.
o Replacement one word may be replaced with another word

from the same class
o Transformation changing from one form to another

- Statement Question
- Positive Negative
- Direct Indirect
- Active Passive
Name and describe three types of pattern drills.
4. 0 CONCLUSION
5. 0 SUMMARY
It is essential that second language learners be properly groomed in the

grammatical structures of the target language to enable them communicate.
84
In this unit, we discussed what grammar is and its role in second language
teaching. We also discussed three methods of teaching grammatical
structures and some techniques you can use in teaching grammar.
1) Name and describe with adequate illustrations three methods you

can use to teach grammar. b. Which groups of methodologists use
these methods ?
2) Which of these methods do you prefer and why
3) Write out a lesson outline using your preferred method to teach the
past continuous tense of an irregular verb.
American heritage dictionary of English language (2002). 4th Ed. New

York: Houghton Mufflin Company.
Boadi, L. A, Grieve, D. W, Nwankwo, B.O. (1968). Grammatical structure

and its teaching. Ibadan: African Universities Press Ltd.
Carter, R; Hughes, R & McCarthy, M (2000). Exploring grammar in

context. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Celce-Murcia, M & Hilles, S (1988). Techniques and resources in teaching

grammar. London: Oxford University Press.

85
UNIT 3 TEACHING READING COMPREHENSION AND

SUMMARY SKILLS
CONTENTS
1. 0 Introduction
2. 0 Objective
3. 0 Main Content
3. 1 Reading Comprehension
3. 1. 1 Factors that Affect reading Comprehension
3. 1. 2 Strategies for Reading and Comprehending a Text
3. 1. 3 Question Types for Reading Comprehension
3. 2 Summary Writing
3. 2. 1 Hints on Teaching Summarizing Skills
3. 2. 2 Summarization Strategies
3. 2. 3 The Summarizing Process
4. 0 Conclusion
5. 0 Summary
7. 0 Reference/Further Reading
1. 0 INTRODUCTION
The speed with which we read and comprehend what we are reading is very
important. You need to develop your students reading skills as these help
them not only in comprehending texts but in summarizing. Reading
comprehension and summarizing skills are skills your students will need
not only for English but also for other subjects. In fact they are life skills.
2. 0 OBJECTIVES
• define reading comprehension

• state factors that affect reading comprehension
• discuss the guidelines for analyzing written text.
• set different types of questions on comprehension passages.
• define summary writing
• state different types of summarization strategies.
• describe the different steps in the summarizing process.
86
3. 0 MAIN CONTENT
3. 1 Reading Comprehension
Reading comprehension can be defined as the level of understanding of

a passage or text. In other words, it is the ability to understand what we
read. Your students comprehension ability may be determined by their
ability to:
- recognize individual words in a passage or text,
- group words into thought units, and
- relate these thought units into meaningful sentences or
paragraphs.
Your students being able to do the above will ultimately lead them to have
a meaningful comprehension of a text at the following three distinct levels
of comprehension :
v Factual Level that is reading the lines. Students may only be

able to pick out the bare facts in the passage or text.
v Interpretative Level reading between the lines. At this level

your students can comprehend the meaning that is not expressed,
but implied.
v Evaluative Level reading beyond the lines. This involves the

evaluation of what is read through mental activities such as
judging the authenticity of the materials, associating what s/ he
has read with his/her present/past experiences.
1. What is reading comprehension?

2. Describe how you will be able to judge some one as being able to
comprehend.
3. 1. 1 Factors that Affect Reading Comprehension
You will notice that not all your students can read at the same speed level
or comprehend what they read effectively. There is a need therefore for you
to help your students develop their comprehension skills. In order for you
to do this well, you must understand the factors that could affect reading
comprehension. These factors include the following:
87
1. The kind of text used.: If a student is not familiar with words,

concepts and experiences contained in the selected passage or text,
comprehension will be affected.
2. Vocabulary: If there are too many difficult words and chunks in a
passage or text that the students have not come across before or
cannot infer their meaning from context, comprehension will be
impaired.
3. Sentence length and paragraph formation: Students reading
comprehension is often impaired when the passage or text is filled
with lengthy sentences and paragraphs.
4. Limited intelligence: Generally, the intelligence level of your
students can lead to their ability or inability to comprehend much.
5. Lack of developmental reading skills: Reading comprehension skills
are based on earlier stages of reading development, which include
oral reading and reading speed/fluency. Without developing these
earlier skills, students most often continually focus on decoding
letters and words instead of pursuing the progression to meaning and
understanding.
1. Name and describe three factors that could affect reading comprehension
and explain how you would deal with these.
3. 1. 2 Strategies for reading and Comprehending a Written Text
There are useful strategies you can teach your students to aid their reading
comprehension.
v First Reading
Teach your students to have a general overview of the passage or text when
they are given a passage to read. Such an overview will help them focus
attention on the text. Teach them to do the following:
- Take note of the title. It may offer clue to the content and
purpose.
- Read through the questions (if there are any).
- Take note of the introduction as it often creates the
atmosphere and provides the setting for what is to follow.
- Take note of the conclusion. This may usually tie in with the
main purpose or arguments of the writer.
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v Re-examine the text and analyse in more detail.
At this stage students are to take note of the following:
- Theme(s), ideas and issues

- Context - cultural, historical and situational . These can affect
the interpretation of the text.
- Audience professional/general/students
- Purpose to entertain/inform/persuade.
- Style diction, imagery etc.
3. 1. 3 Question Types for Reading Comprehension
• Literal/factual questions Answers to this type of questions are

generally found in the passage. Question formats include wh ,
such as who, what, why, when, etc
• Technique questions This type examines the writer s style
especially his/her use of language.
• Questions about the writer s intended audience general public,
adults, teenagers, specific group, political, professional etc
• Questions about the writer s purpose is it to entertain, amuse,
inform, explain, criticize etc.
• Interpretative/Inferential questions demand that students make
inferences beyond the written text.
• Sentence analysis questions This type requires students to identify
sentence types, clauses, phrases and state their functions.
• Vocabulary questions giving meaning of words using contextual
clues and giving the synonyms/antonyms of words.
3. 2 Summary Writing
A summary is a shortened version of an original text. It states the main

ideas and important details of the text with the same text structure of the
original. It is a simplified condensed account of the original text.
3. 2. 1 Hints on Teaching Summarizing Skills
Summarizing requires that your students comprehend, analyze and

synthesize ideas in a passage or text. This is not just copying or blind
lifting of statements in the passage. Students are expected to process the
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text in one form, make judgments about the ideas and restate the text in a
new form. Your students should take note of the following:
• Summaries should be brief. Only main points are required.

• Straight to the point. Eliminate all unnecessary information such as
repetitions, explanations, descriptions and quotations.
• Use your own words. This shows that you understand the text.
• A summary is a reported statement. So it should be written in the
past tense and in reported speech.
• Summary is different from a paraphrase.
o Paraphrase
Paraphrasing is simply restating ideas in different words.
o Summary
A summary is a shortened simplified version of an original text.
1. a) What is evaluative level of reading comprehension?
b) Mention three factors that can affect your students reading

comprehension.
2. List and describe four hints you should teach your students on
summarizing
3. 2. 2 Summarization Strategies
A summarizing strategy is a set of procedures that you teach your students

to follow when doing a summary exercise. The type of summarization
strategy to adopt depends on the length of the text. There are three types of
summarization strategies that you can teach your students. These are:
v The Paragraph Summarization Strategy
This strategy requires that you deal with only one paragraph at a time. You
read the paragraph and then ask some questions to find the main idea and
supporting details.
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v The Section Summarization Strategy
This strategy focuses on students reading a multi-paragraph section that

covers a topic. This is the type you will find in summary sections of
external examinations such as WAEC, NECO and NABTEB.
v The Multi-Section Summarization Strategy
This type of summarization strategy is the type used in report writing, for
example summarizing a prose text.
1. State and describe three summarization strategies.

2. List and describe the types of questions asked in the summary section of
a WAEC paper of any year.
3. 2. 3 Summarization Process
There are five distinct steps in the summarizing process:
Step 1: Identifying the key points of the text.
In most English prose forms, the key points of a text passage can be found
in the first sentence of each paragraph. The final sentence of a text often
contains valuable information and even at times the key points can also be
found in the middle sentences.
Step 2: Paraphrasing key points at sentence level.
Every successful summary is both an interpretation and a paraphrase. It is

an interpretation because you must decide what parts of an original text are
salient. It is a paraphrase since the wording of the selected key portions
almost invariably differs from the original. Paraphrasing is an important
part of the summarizing process because it allows you to adjust the text to
the interests and reading level of a target audience. Use of synonyms is
essential in this step. So the need to develop your students vocabulary
comes to play here.
Step 3: Transforming sentence-level paraphrases into reported speech
This is the simplest part of the summarizing process. It involves a

mechanical transformation of text passages into the third person, past tense
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forms. You can teach this by taking a wide range of sentences and
transforming them into reported speech.
Step 4: Adding sequential markers.
Sequential markers indicate which part of a passage comes first, next and
last. Though short summaries may not need such markers, longer ones
often do. Sequential markers include:
First Next Then In addition In the section
After this Finally Lastly Moreover In conclusion
Which follows
Step 5: Creating an introductory sentence (Optional)
Some extended summaries are complex enough to merit the addition of an

introductory sentence at the head, which tells readers what the passage is
about. E.g.: This is an article about , This passage reflects the opinion of
, This story expresses the thoughts of .
4. 0 CONCLUSION
Summarizing goes hand in hand with comprehension skills. With adequate

practice, both skills will aid you in your studies and in your career. Being
able to read and summarize would greatly aid you in teaching your students
these very important skills
5. 0 SUMMARY
In this unit, we discussed two life skills: comprehension skills and

summarizing skills. In the comprehension skills we discussed the different
levels of comprehension, factors that affect reading comprehension,
analysis of the written text and type of questions to expect in
comprehension passages. For the summarizing skills we discussed hints for
summary teaching, summarization strategies and the summarizing process.
1. Take an article from a newspaper of not more than a typed page single
spacing and set three factual questions, and one question on the writer s
purpose.
2. Select the comprehension section of WAEC English Language paper of
any year, write out each of the questions asked on the passage. Describe
with reason the question type.
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3. a)State three things your students should take note of when

summarizing.
b) What is a section summarization strategy?
Koda, K. (2005). Insights into second language reading: A cross-linguistic

approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Laye, V. (1979). Teaching to read and understand. In E. Ubahakwe (ed).

The teaching of English studies. Ibadan: University Press
Yorkey, M. (1970). Study skills in English. London: McGraw-Hill
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UNIT 4 TEACHING LITERATURE-IN-ENGLISH 1:

PROSE
CONTENTS
1. 0 Introduction
2. 0 Objectives
3. 0 Main Content
3. 1 What is Literature?
3. 1. 1 Literature and Language Teaching
3. 2 Literature in ESL Classrooms
3. 2. 1 Objectives of Teaching Literature in Schools
3. 2. 2 Choice of Literature Texts
3. 3 Prose and the Approaches for Teaching It
3. 3. 1 Group-work Approach
3. 3. 2 Activity Oriented Approach
3. 3. 3 Teaching Foreign Prose
4. 0 Conclusion
5. 0 Summary
7. 0 References/Further Reading
1. 0 INTRODUCTION
In the previous units we discussed the four basic language skills and some
sub-skills all aimed at teaching you the procedures and techniques to use to
teach your students to develop language competence. In this unit and the
next, we will be discussing the teaching of literature-in-English. The
exposure of students to literary and creative works of prose, poetry and
drama is a very useful way of teaching not only literary skills but language
skills.
2. 0 OBJECTIVES
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• state the importance of literature in language teaching.

• discuss the importance of teaching literature in secondary schools.
• discuss the approaches to teaching literature.
• identify what to look for in choosing literary texts.
• discuss steps in the teaching of prose .
3. 0 MAIN CONTENT
3. 1 What is Literature?
Generally, all that provokes awe or exhilaration, tears or laughter is a likely
material for literature. Literature in essence is the life of man as it is filtered
through the temperament of the writer either as it has really been lived in
the past, or as created by the ingenuity of the writer.
3. 1. 1 Literature and Language Teaching
The basis of the integration of literature in language teaching is to

encourage students to read and to experience language in use. The aid of
literature in English language was identified as far back as 1966 with the
Ford Foundation s report (Uwaifo, 1979). Literature and language are
intertwined because language is the medium through which messages in
literary discourses are encoded.
The role of literature within language teaching in Nigeria changes

considerably from primary to secondary schools especially at the senior
secondary school level. Whereas in the primary and junior secondary
school levels, literature is often integrated with other components of
language learning and teaching, at the senior secondary school level,
literature is taught as a separate subject.
3. 2 Literature in ESL Classroom
The purposes of teaching literature in the primary school level is to

introduce pupils to literary reading in such a way that they can enjoy it and
develop regular reading habits. Experience with literature is stressed and
creative methods are often used.
The more advanced the students are the more likely the teaching of
literature is to show explicit traces of literary studies. At the senior
secondary school level, the study of literature often serves as preparatory
for literary studies at the tertiary level
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3. 2. 1 Objectives of Teaching Literature in Schools
Literature is taught for various purposes which include:
• recording of human experiences

• exploring of cultural values
• creating emotional response from the reader
• enabling people imagine situations/personalities they had never seen
• creating pleasure
• teaching morals ( e.g. ills of the society)
• improving language use
• broadening students personal experiences
• preparing students for pursuit of literary studies later in life.
State three objectives for teaching literature in schools.
3. 2. 2 Choice of Literary Texts
There are some guidelines you must use when selecting a literary text for
your class. These include :
1. Availability of the chosen text e.g. a novel or a book of short stories

2. Suitability of the language used in writing it.
3. Familiarity with some features of the novel or short story.
4. Contemporary nature of the text in terms of subject matter.
5. Readability level of the text. This has to do with how easy or
difficult your students find the text.
1. List and discuss three criteria you will use in choosing literary
texts for your students.
3. 3 Prose and the Approaches for Teaching It
Prose is one of the types or genres of literature, which is straight forward

and whose basic unit is the sentence. Prose literature can be classified into
literary and non-literary works. Literary works include novels, short stories,
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biographies; essays etc. Non-literary works include scholarly and scientific

books, articles, guidebooks, manuals and law reports.
APPROACHES TO TEACHING PROSE
We are going to discuss two of such approaches, namely, using small

groupings within a class and using a single class.
3. 3. 1 Small Groupings within a Class Approach
You will find this approach very useful at primary and junior secondary
school levels. The ideal thing is to expose your students to as several texts
as possible. This approach works like this:
o Organize your students into small groups with common interest.

Appoint a leader for each group who should lead the discussion after
textual reading.
o Select an interesting reading text e.g. short story or a novel.
o Each group is to read part of the text for example, a chapter or two
chapters and then make a presentation of the parts/chapters read in
form of a play or discussion.
Advantages:
o It instills confidence in the students and so aids learning.

o Many portions of a text book or novel are covered in a short time.
o Since it is a variation from the traditional approach of every body
reading the same thing,, it arouses interest.
3. 3. 2 A Single Class Approach
This is an approach, which engages all the learners as a class. You may use
the following strategies when you adopt this approach:
o choose a short story or novel and ask students to do the following
o Let each student rewrite portions of the story the class has read.
o Each student is to provide alternative end to a story the class has
read but whose ending the class feels is not suitable.
o Ask the class to rewrite sections of the story into a play. The whole
class can then dramatize it.
o Encourage students to make pictorial representation of scenes or
sections found to be humorous.
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o Encourage your students to weave new stories around existing

characters, while at the same time retaining the characters
individuality.
o Ask students to rewrite incidents they did not enjoy to suit their own
expectations and taste.
You will find out that these activities will enhance your students
understanding, aid retention of what they read. This will encourage artistic
tendencies in them.
3. 3. 4 Teaching Foreign Prose
Foreign prose texts are written based on cultural, political and social
backgrounds different from those of your students. You will therefore ,
have to:
o First give the background of the story.

o Select interesting passages in the novel or short story , especially
those that give or describe details of the people s culture.
o Select sections of the novel that exemplify the beauty of the English
language.
o Highlight areas of differences between your students cultures and
the foreign cultures. This is because, our experiences of the world is
limited and it is in prose literature that we encounter people of other
land thereby enlarging our experiences. You can also make use of
outlines to help draw your students attention to vital incidents.
o Use probing questions to draw students attention to the importance
of utterances, actions and incidents especially when their limited
experiences do not enable them to see such importance.
o You should not only highlight cultural differences, you should also
point out cultural similarities.
1. What are the two broad classifications of prose literature?

2. Name three approaches to teaching prose. b. Describe two of these
4. 0 CONCLUSION
Literature is essential in language teaching. At the junior secondary school

level you should aim at exposing your students to a wide variety of reading
materials. At this stage exposure to pleasure and experience is what
matters. At the senior secondary school level you should aim at drawing out
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students impression on plot, incidence, characterization, mood, motives

and so on. Prose at this stage is more intensive than extensive, as your
students must be led to obtain the fullest possible response to each text.
5. 0 SUMMARY
This unit took you through the importance of literature in language

teaching, its objectives and choice of literature texts. We also discussed
different approaches to teaching prose literature.
1. a) What criteria would guide your choice of a literary text for a

junior secondary school class ?
b) How will you determine the suitability of a literary text for a

JSS II class?
2. Describe with illustrations any two approaches to teaching prose.
3. Name and describe three issues you must consider when teaching
your students a foreign prose.
4. Classify prose literature and give one example for each classification.
Carter, R & Long, M. N. (1991). Teaching literature. Harlow: Longman
Duff, A & Maley, A. (1990). Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Larzar, G. (1991). Literature and language teaching. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press
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UNIT 5 TEACHING LITERATURE-IN-ENGLISH 2:

DRAMA AND POETRY
CONTENTS
1. 0 Introduction
2. 0 Objectives
3. 0 Main Content
3. 1 What is Dramatic Literature?
3. 1. 1 Difficulties in Teaching Drama
3. 2 Approaches to Teaching Drama
3. 3 What is Poetry?
3. 3. 1 Poetic Devices and Poetry Teaching
3. 4 Approaches to Teaching Poetry
3. 4. 1 Teaching Poetry at Different Class Levels
4. 0 Conclusion
5. 0 Summary
1. 0 INTRODUCTION
This unit is a continuation of the discussions on the teaching of literature-

in-English. In this unit, our focus will be on the other two genres of
literature: drama and poetry. We will discuss their nature and teaching
approaches.
2. 0 OBJECTIVES
• distinguish between drama and poetry.

• discuss two approaches of teaching drama
• outline poetic devices in poetry
• discuss an approach to teaching poetry
3. 0 MAIN CONTENT
3. 1 What is Dramatic Literature?
Dramatic literature is any literary composition written in dialogue meant to

be spoken through acting or dramatizing. It is actually not meant to be read
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as one would read prose and poetry. Of the three genres of literature,
drama, prose and poetry, none is closer to the people than drama. Drama
permeates man s activities; he is naturally being continually placed in
situations that demand action.
Though poetry and drama have a lot in common, the same origin and
literary composition, they are different in purposes to certain extent. A
poem can be read by a solitary person but a drama piece is usually read by
more than one person since it is meant to be acted out.
Poetry originated from Heroic or Epic stories as well as satirical stories.
Tragic drama originated from Heroic stories while comedies originated
from satirical stories. The styles of writing of both literary genres are
poetic.
3. 1. 1 Difficulties in Teaching Drama

Drama presents problems of teaching you would not encounter in the
teaching of other genres. The difficulties of teaching drama arise from the
fact that one cannot just read it for pleasure. To enjoy drama and bring out
its theme it ought to be acted out. You can only do this if your students
have been grounded very well in the area of drama production. You will
have to be familiar with certain theatrical elements listed below.
1. Characterization
2. Physical stage settings showing entrances and exits.
3. Costumes to show either the period or characters
4. Lighting effect to help in the interpretation of the mood of the play at
different acts and scenes.
5. The audience s reactions at any given time of production.
The question at this point is how you can manage all these in order to bring
the playwright s ideas into the classroom. This definitely requires a lot of
work and calls for adequate preparation on your part. You will have to:
• read the play as a whole. Then break the play into a number of
lessons in a school term, paying attention to the logical presentation
of the play beginning, middle and ending of a particular episode.
• look for relevant teaching aids both improvised and commercial
ones. You can even encourage your students to make some props
and costumes to be used.
• create the setting of the play and use this to give the play its proper
background.
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Before you begin the teaching of a play you should identify the following
and use appropriate questioning techniques to lead your students to do the
same:
- Writer of the play

- Setting
- Plot arrangement of incidents
- Main and sub-themes
- Characters and characterization
Distinguish between poetry and drama.
3. 2 Approaches to Teaching Drama
The teaching of drama entails the use of diverse approaches. You will have
to make your choice of the approaches to use since there is no best way
drama can be taught. There are various methods, but our focus will be on
two of them. These will be discussed below.
v Line-by-line Approach
In this approach you will:
- Assign your students different characters

- Make them read out the dialogue and personify or imitate the
characters assigned to them.
This method explores every speech and meanings of all literary devices
used in the text.
v Dramatization Method
This method involves actual acting or dramatization of the play. Your

students will be expected to speak the lines of the characters with
conviction, accuracy and rhythm. This demands a full knowledge and
understanding of the text. You can make your students dramatize different
scenes in the classroom. This is the most effective method of making a play
interesting. This method aids the possibilities of interpretation. It
encourages improvisation and creativity. You can video record your
students presentation and play it back for the class for criticism.
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Illustrate how you will use the line-by-line method to teach a piece of
drama to JSS I students?
3. 3 What is Poetry?
Poetry is an imaginative piece of literary work in verse form. It is a literary

mode that operates through the principles of imagery, sound and rhythm,
with the aim of creating thought, feeling and beauty. Wordsworth s well-
known definition of poetry refers to it as emotions recollected in
tranquility and Coleridge defined it as the best words in the best order.
Poetry centres on a few general characteristics. It:
- is drawn from real life experiences

- makes comments on life.
- comprises the truth of the world and the truth of man s perception of
that world.
Poetry has a definite role to play in society. In addition to being a tool for
intellectual development, for training in aesthetic appreciation, and for
emotional growth, poetry is a preserver of our culture; as such its value
should not be overlooked.
3. 3. 1 Poetic Devices and Poetry Teaching
From experience you will find out that most of your students will shy away
from the study of poetry. The reason is not far fetched. This is because of
the belief that the language of poetry is difficult and unintelligible. It is true
that poetic diction is more condensed than the language of prose, but this is
because the poet is more economical in his/her use of words.
If you are going to discuss poetry you need to learn the proper terminology
(language). You will need to know the forms of poetry, from haiku to
sonnet and the techniques poets use to build their work. If you do not feel
comfortable with poetic devices and forms you can look for a good literary
reference text to use.
You should teach a device in the context of a poem that aptly illustrates it.
Then draw students attention to other poems in which that device has been
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used. Through repeatedly drawing their attention to this your students

would eventually consolidate their knowledge of that device.
3. 4 Approaches to Teaching Poetry
Poetry is as diverse as life itself. There are varieties of subject matter, type,
form, mood and so on. So also are there various approaches of teaching
poetry. However, we are going to discuss just one approach
v Reading / Listening, Question and Answer Approach
This approach is similar to what you do in loud reading and listening

lessons. You will read out the poem while your students listen. The essence
is on listening. Your students are not expected to open to the page where
the poem is written. They should just listen to your reading and form their
own impressions. After reading the poem ask the students some leading
questions, such as:
- What is the poem about?

- Where did the whole incident in the poem take place?
- Which figures of speech are used by the poet?
- What mood is expressed in the poem?
After discussing these questions, allow the students to open to the poem
while you read the poem again.
Pick out words from the poem and ask students for the explanation of these
words.
Discuss the poem in full detail, the language, the movement of the lines for
effect, the arrangement of words and other important aspects of the poem.
3. 4. 1 Teaching Poetry at Different Class Levels
• Teaching Poetry at the Junior Secondary School Level
You can use poetry to arouse and maintain the interest of your students, if
your selections of poems are simple. Poems you pick for JSS I should be
simple narratives, songs and simple traditional poems which can be easily
understood and enjoyed. The simplicity of diction, subject matter and the
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liveliness inherent in the lines of such poems can be quite appealing to

young people.
At JSS II and III classes, poetry study should be more elaborate. Ballads,
lyrics and praise poems can be introduced.
• Teaching Poetry in the Senior Secondary School Level
At this level a poem should be seen as an organic whole creation. At this

level you cannot afford not to be a master of the subject. You should
prepare a well-developed lesson plan and use it effectively. You should
highlight those essential internal characteristics that contribute to make a
poem whole in your lesson plan.
o Poem type
o Features of the poem
o Background information on the setting of the poem
o Poetic devices similes, metaphor, personification and so on
o Imagery. This is the essence of poetry. It is the concentrated way in
which a poet describes things. It deals with the pictures conjured up
in the reader s mind by the poet in an attempt to clarify his/her idea.
There are three types of imagery:
- Mental imagery visual, auditory, tactile and gustatory

- Symbolic imagery a word is used to symbolize deeper things.
For example words like desert could be used to symbolize
desolation and loneliness.
- Metaphorical imagery this deals with analogies.
1. Choose a poem composed by a Nigerian and show how you will use
Reading / Listening, Question and Answer Approach
to teach it to SSS I class.
4. 0 CONCLUSION
An important aspect of a child s education is the cultivation and

appreciation of creativity. This can be developed in the learners through the
study of literature. Hence our focus in this unit and the preceding one had
been on the teaching of the three genres of literature; prose, drama and
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poetry. It is also hoped that this will deepen students sensitivity to

language use.
5. 0 SUMMARY
In this unit, we discussed the teaching of drama with reference to its

meaning, relevance, difficulties encountered in its teaching and approaches
to its teaching. We also discussed the teaching of poetry where our focus
was on its various definitions, poetic devices and approaches to its
teaching. We particularly discussed how poetry should be taught at the
different secondary school classes.
1. Compare and contrast drama and poetry.
2. List and describe five things you must identify before you begin to
teach a play.
3. List and describe five essential internal characteristics of a poem you

will highlight in your lesson plan for a SS II class.
Carter, R & Long, M. N. (1991). Teaching literature. Harlow: Longman
Duff, A & Maley, A. (1990). Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Vendler, H. (1997). Poems, poets, poetry. Boston: Bedford/St Martins
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MODULE 3:LANGUAGE TESTING and LESSON PLANNING
Unit 1 Test Types, Functions/Uses, and Qualities of Language Tests

Unit 2 Basic Steps in Language Test Construction
Unit 3 Writing Scheme of Work and Lesson Plans
UNIT 1 TEST TYPES, FUNCTI ONS/USES, AND

QUALITIES OF LANGUAGE TESTS
CONTENTS
1. 0 Introduction
2. 0 Objectives
3. 0 Main Content
3. 1 Tests
3. 1. 1 Types of Language Tests
3. 1. 2 Functions/Uses of Test
3. 2 Qualities of a Good Language Teat
4. 0 Conclusion
5. 0 Summary
1. 0 INTRODUCTION
In the preceding units, we discussed the teaching of the four basic language
skills and some language sub-skills and strategies. The teaching of
literature-in-English was also discussed. However, language teaching will
be incomplete if you do not know how to go about assessing and evaluating
your students learning. The goal of this unit is to discuss language testing
and to teach you various procedures for testing your students.
2. 0 OBJECTIVES
• state what a test is

• name different types of tests
• state functions/uses of tests
• state the qualities of a good test.
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3. 0 MAIN CONTENT
3. 1 What is a Test?
A test is any kind of device or procedure for measuring ability,

achievement, interest, attitude or any other traits. It is a specific task test
takers (testees) are asked to perform. A test is only one of many devices
through which measurement data may be generated for evaluation purpose.
Test items can assess one or more objectives. Items/questions of a similar
kind may be grouped together to form subtests within a given test.
Language testing is a field of study under the umbrella of applied

linguistics. Its focus is on the assessment of learners knowledge, skills and
abilities in a second or foreign language. The earliest works in language
assessment dates back to the 1950s with the pioneering work of Robert
Lado (1961).
The earliest large-scale language assessment programme in the United

States is the Test of English as Foreign Language (TOEFL) that was
launched in 1961 by the Educational Testing Services, Princeton, New
Jersey. Tests designed by TOEFL are used to assess the English language
ability of students seeking admission into U S and Canadian colleges and
universities.
3. 1. 1 Types of Language Tests
Test classification presents lots of topics for discussion and varies on the
basis of the traits being measured.. Most often these classifications overlap.
Some of these classifications are listed below:
1. Classification based on type of behaviour being measured.

Examples
a) Ability tests measure speed, accuracy or both. E.g.
o Achievement tests
Achievement tests measure what has been learnt as a result of

teaching. It is used to indicate the degree of success in some past
learning activity. Achievement tests can be teacher made or
standardized.
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o Aptitude tests
Aptitude tests measure some one s potential for learning or acquiring

a specific skill /knowledge in the future. Examples are, Verbal
Aptitude Tests, Quantitative Aptitude Tests.
o Intelligence tests
Intelligence tests commonly refer to a person s general potential to
solve problems, think abstractly, adapt to changes independent of
prior learning. It measures learner s hereditary capacity to learn.
b) Personality tests. These are tests that relate to overt and covert
dispositions of the testee. They measure typical behaviours such as
traits, temperament , attitude and emotion.
2. Classification based on the function or purpose of the test
§ Diagnostic test
It is used to diagnose difficulties or problems students have learning.
The concern is to diagnose learning problems, determine the causes
of learning problems and formulate a plan for remedial action.
§ Placement test
It is concerned with determining learners entry performance. The
information obtained using such tests would be used to sort learners
into appropriate learning groups according to learners academic
performance. For example, if a learner cannot learn the subjects in
primary 5 because he cannot read, he may be stepped down to a
remedial reading programme for some weeks or a term before
proceeding to primary 5.
§ Formative tests
These are used to ascertain learners progress during the
course of instruction. The purpose is to provide feedback to
both teacher and students concerning the learning successes
and failures of the students. Information gathered is used by
the students to improve their learning and by the teacher to
find ways of modifying instruction to help students improve.
Examples of formative tests are the daily or weekly quizzes
given to students.
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§ Summative tests
These are typically given at the end of a course of

instruction, for example, at the end of a term or semester.
The purpose is to determine the extent to which the learners
have attained the instructional objectives set out for the
subject, being studied. The scores obtained by the students are
used in assigning grades to them or in certifying them.
Examples of summative tests are end of term/ semester/ year
tests, NECO, WASCE results.
3. Classification on the basis of who designed and constructed the Test.
§ Standardized tests
These are tests designed and administered by test specialists.
Standardized tests can be oral, essay or objective. Recognized
standardized tests in English are Test of English as a Foreign
Language ( TOEFL) tests.
§ Teacher made tests

These are classroom tests constructed by teachers to measure how
well a group of students that have been taught the content of a
specific unit or course/subject have performed.
4. Classification based on the format of expected response.
a. Oral tests requiring verbal response.

b. Written tests requiring the use of paper and pen.
5. Classification based on the format of the test.

There are two types, namely, objective and open-ended formats
a. Objective tests.
Examples
- Multiple-choice
- Matching items
- True/False items
- Fill-in-the-gap/Completion
§ Advantages:
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1) Covers large content area

2) Scoring is more reliable because bias is eliminated
3) Appropriate for measuring knowledge of facts
4) Comparability of students performance is achieved.
§ Disadvantages:
1) Takes much time to construct.

2) The result/outcome is concerned with the answer only and not the
process the student used in arriving at the answer..
3) Fails to measure students ability to analyse and evaluate.
b. Open-ended tests.
These are tests that allow the testee to express him/herself. They may be long
or short. Examples in language testing are essay/composition writing,
comprehension and summary writing.
§ Advantages:
1) A shorter time is required for setting the test.

2) It is appropriate for measuring comprehension skills, thinking skills
and the ability to express oneself in writing
3) The test is concerned not only with the students answers but also
with how the students arrived at the answers..
§ Disadvantages:
1) Has low reliability, because only few questions are set out of the
large area of content that might have been covered. Essay tests do
not allow you to set questions on all the topics taught.
2) Scoring is time consuming and subjective.
3) Scoring could be inconsistent or unreliable.
Which type of test can you use in detecting your students areas of
language weakness?
3. 1. 2 Functions/Uses of Tests
The following are the uses of tests. You will observe though that these are
very similar to classification and types of tests. In fact classification, types
and functions/uses overlap.
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• Selection and placement

• Consolidating and structuring learning
• Evaluating teaching
• Certifying/grading achievement or attainment
• Determining learners readiness
• Guiding and correction learning
• Focusing learning
• Motivating learning
• Identifying specific weakness/difficulties so that an appropriate
remedial programme can be planned.
List six uses of language tests.
3. 2 Qualities of a Good Language Test
Test, as an instrument possesses some qualities, which are necessary before

it can qualify as a test and usable. A good language test should possess the
following characteristics, which are interdependent. These include:
§ Validity
Validity is the extent to which a test measures what it is supposed to

measure and the extent to which inferences and actions made on the basis
of the test scores are appropriate and accurate. A reading comprehension
test that tests knowledge of grammar and vocabulary is not valid. A reading
comprehension test that tests students ability to infer, identify main ideas
and evaluate is a valid test.
§ Reliability
Reliability is the consistency with which a test measures the area being
tested. It describes the extent to which a test is dependable, stable and
consistent when administered to the same individuals on different occasions
when neither learning nor teaching has taken place after the first test. This
means that the same testees/ students would score the same or about the
same marks each time the test is given.
Reliability also refers to two or more examiners awarding nearly the same
scores on each test paper. This is referred to as scorer reliability.
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§ Objectivity
This is the extent to which a set of test answers given by an expert to a set
of questions agrees with answers given by another expert on the same test
questions. What makes a test objective is that each question has one and
only one correct answer. For example:
What is the synonym of beautiful?
a) lovely b) handsome c) fine d) ugly
Options A, B and C are possible answers, thus question is not objective
§ Discrimination
A good test should be able to make a distinction between good and poor
learners. It should show the slight differences between learners that have
learnt from the instruction and those that have not.
§ Comprehensiveness
A test with sufficient questions/ items that cover much of the content of the
course (syllabus) that is, the subject matter, is said to be comprehensive.
§ Economy
This refers to the ease with which a test can be administered and scored.
Thus, a test that is unduly lengthy or which contains tedious instructions
would not be considered economic.
§ Practicality/Usability
This has to do with the wide range of other factors that determine if a test is
practical for widespread use. These include convenience and interpretability
of test scores.
List and describe qualities of a good language test.
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4. 0 CONCLUSION
Knowing how to teach the different language skills and sub-skills is not
enough for the second language teacher. You need to be able to assess and
evaluate your students learning. This you can achieve through testing.
5. 0 SUMMARY
In this unit, we have discussed the different classifications of test types,

their functions/uses and qualities of a good test. In the next unit, you will
learn how to construct test items / questions.
1. a) Name and describe three classification of tests.
b) Describe three objective test types.
2. What is a standardized test?
3. List and describe three qualities of a good language test.
Allen, M; Noel, R. C; Rienzi, B. M & McMillin, D.T (2002). Outcomes

assessment handbook. California State University, Institute of
Teaching and Learning. Long Beach, CA

Harris, D. P. (1969). Testing English as a second language. New York:

McGraw Hill
Lado, R. (1961). Language testing. London: Longman
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UNIT 2 BASIC STEPS IN LANGUAGE TEST

CONSTRUCTION
CONTENTS
1. 0 Introduction
2. 0 Objectives
3. 0 Main Content
3. 1 Approaches to Language Test Construction
3. 1.1 Discrete-Point and Integrative Tests
3.2 Procedures to Language Test Construction

3. 2. 1 Test Planning Stage
3. 2. 2 Test Item Writing Stage
3. 3 Construction of Objective Tests
3. 3. 1 Guidelines for Constructing Multiple-Choice
Items
3. 4 Construction and Evaluation of Essay Questions
4. 0 Conclusion
5. 0 Summary
1. 0 INTRODUCTION
The writing of any test is called test construction and the questions
generated are called items. Constructing test items might seem easy on the
surface, but a lot of thought must go into the process to make the test good.
Generating test items requires you making decisions about the language
content to cover, the approach to use, the format to use, for example,
whether objective or essay, etc. Your decisions will be guided by what you
intend to use the test result for. For instance, are you testing your students
achievement of what you taught them, or are you testing them in order to
know where to place them at the point of entry? Are you testing your
students knowledge of vocabulary, grammar, or are you testing their
ability to speak and write in English?
2. 0 OBJECTIVES
• distinguish between discrete-point tests and integrative tests.

• discuss the different stages in test construction
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• discuss the guidelines for the construction of objective test items.

• prepare a marking scheme for essay questions.
3. 0 MAIN CONTENT
3. 1 APPROACHES to LANGUAGE TEST CONSTRUCTION
3. 1. 1 Discreet and Integrative Test Approaches
The two main approaches used in constructing language tests, are

discrete-point and integrative approaches. The test items / questions
produced by each approach are labeled by that approach. Thus you
have discreet point tests and integrative tests.
v Discrete- Point Approach

This approach is based on the Audio- Lingual philosophy and method of
teaching. Just as for Audio lingual approach to teaching, discrete point
approach is used when we want to test learners knowledge and use of
discreet components/aspects of a language, e.g. grammatical structures,
vocabulary and sounds. Go back to Unit 2 of this course material and
refresh your mind on Audio lingual method of teaching. This will help you
to understand better the philosophy of discreet point method of testing.
Advantages of Discreet Point Tests
Ø They usually cover a wider area of the subject

matter taught than integrative tests do. This is
because, discreet point approach uses objective
test formats which could be used to ask many
questions in a given test. Examples of such format
include, multiple-choice, true/false, and
completion formats.
Ø They are easy to mark/grade. This is because the
formats used, such as multiple choice requires
very little effort on the part of the marker/ scorer.
Ø By focusing on specific aspects/components of a
language, such as grammar, discreet point tests
allow the teacher to easily find out how well
grounded or knowledgeable a learner is in, for
instance, vocabulary, grammar e.g. tenses etc
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Ø Because of their objective format, discreet point

tests assure that scorers/markers score the same
scripts in the same way. This ensures rater
reliability.
Disadvantages of Discreet Point Tests
Ø A disadvantage of this approach is that it focuses on

the knowledge of individual components ( vocabulary,
grammar ) and skills ( reading, writing, listening or
speaking ) rather than on the way such knowledge and
skills are used to achieve communication.
Ø Another disadvantage is that discreet point tests take
time to construct. It will take you much time to write
50 or 100 multiple choice test items.
Ø Learners answering of questions on specific
components of a language, regardless of their actual
function in communication may not be of much value
in determining a learner s communicative performance
in a given language.
v Integrative Testing Approach
Integrative tests are constructed with the intention of tapping the total
communicative abilities of language learners. This approach to testing is
based on the philosophy of communicative methodologists. Integrative
tests, test skills that are involved in normal communication. Examples of
integrative tests are speaking in oral interviews, writing dictation exercises,
responding to questions on listening and reading comprehension exercises,
writing compositions and cloze test. Integrative tests are pragmatic as they
set tasks which make the learners to process sequences of elements in
language that often conform to normal real life use of language in various
contexts.
Advantages of Integrative Tests

Ø Integrative tests assess learners communicative abilities.
Ø Integrative tests take less time to construct.
Disadvantages of Integrative Tests
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- There is often the problem of rater/scorer reliability in the

award of marks.
- Integrative tests take time in marking.
Using appropriate examples, distinguish between discrete point tests and

integrative tests.
3. 2 Procedure to Language Test Construction
Before you embark on test construction, there are certain key issues you
need to consider for both discrete and integrative tests. These constitute
steps /stages in item writing and are discussed below.
3. 2. 1 Test Planning Stage
There are certain things you should know and have at your fingertips for effective
writing of questions/items for any test.
• One essential step in planning a test is to decide why you are

giving the test. Classroom assessments are generally focused
on content that has been covered in the class, either in the
immediate past or over a longer period of time. Here the
syllabus, scheme of work and notes of lessons are very
useful, as they present a list of topics that have been covered
and from these topics you can base your questions.
• The next step is deciding how much emphasis to place on

each topic (check the amount of time devoted to each topic in
class). The more time you spent teaching a particular topic,
the more emphasis you will give to this topic when you are
preparing your test. A helpful guide in deciding what to
include in your test is to have a table of specification. This is
also called a test plan or test blueprint. A Table of
Specification/Test Blue Print is a two-way table that matches
the content taught with the content to include in the test. It
contains an estimate of the percentage weighting to be
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allocated to the topics covered during instruction. A sample

of a table of specification is included in this unit.
• We also have to take into account the types of thinking skills

or levels of learning we wish to assess. Bloom s taxonomy of
educational objectives is a good source of determining the
levels of learning to assess. These levels of learning will in
turn assist us to determine the types of questions to ask and
the appropriate question formats to employ. Below is a brief
presentation of Bloom s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives
to familiarize you with various levels of learning you could
test.
Bloom s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives/ Learning
Objectives
ü Knowledge Remembering or recall of previously learned

material/information ( e.g. specific facts, terminologies
and theories). Examples of item formats to use: multiple
choice, true/false, matching, fill in the blank, responding to
wh- questions, such as why, when, what, where, and how
ü Comprehension Ability to demonstrate the understanding

of information, facts, principles, theories etc by explaining,
interpreting or translating it. Examples of question formats
to use: multiple choice, true/false, matching, fill in the
blank, open ended questions requiring students to write
composition, respond to questions on reading
comprehension and summary passages
ü Application Ability to apply or use what is learned in new

and concrete situations. Examples are the application of rules,
methods, concepts, principles, laws and theories. Item formats
to use: multiple choice, true/false, creating or doing
something, e.g. write composition, do summary of texts, write
an application for a job, type a letter, create a database.
ü Analysis Ability to identify elements/ relationships in a

piece of work e.g. read a poem or novel and analyze it,
analyze a work of art, music. Examples of item formats to
use: multiple choice, true/false, matching, fill in the blank,
write answers to open ended questions
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ü Synthesis Ability to put parts together to form a new whole.

Examples: production of a unique communication e.g. a
speech, writing a research proposal or a report on a project
etc. Examples of item formats: essay, report, project.
ü Evaluation- Ability to judge the value or worth of

information/ material, for examples, statements, novel, poem,
research report. Examples of item formats: multiple choice,
true/false, fill in the blank, writing essays, reports, and
critiquing projects e.g. research .
A SAMPLE OF TABLE OF SPECIFICATION
A table of specification is a two way chart displaying a representative sample of

topics covered and types of learning expected of learners to acquire and
demonstrate. The table of specification below is for a summative test on
NOUN Access English.
COURSE TITLE : ENG 001 : ACCESS ENGLISH
LEVELS OF LEARNING ( In percentages )
Knowledge Comprehension Application Analysis synthesis Evaluation Total
Grammar
usage 1 3 6 6 15
Grammar 10
usage 11 3 3 4
Lexis &
structure 3 6 6 15
Listening,
speaking
& reading
skills 4 5 5 6 5 25
Writing
skills:
summary,
letters &
essays 4 6 5 10 10 35
Total
9 23 27 10 16 15 100
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3. 2. 2 Test Item Writing Stage
• Follow the table of specification strictly.

• Begin with simpler test items, and then proceed to more
complex ones.
• Prepare a marking scheme as you write the questions.)
• Construct your test items well ahead of time for review and
reframing of items.
• If possible let your colleagues or other experts review your
items.
• Construct more than the required number of test items.
What is a test blue print?
3. 3 Construction of Objective Tests
Objective test questions are those in which the testee must select the one
correct or best response from two or more alternatives. Objective items may
be administered in a variety of formats such as:
§ Multiple-choice
§ Matching
§ True/False
§ Fill-in-the-gap/Completion
§
However, research in the field of testing suggests that multiple-choice tests
are the most reliable and valid of objective test formats. Multiple-choice
questions play an important role in testing and are among the most widely
used of selection-type items. The popularity of the multiple question stems
from the fact that they can be designed to measure a variety of learning
outcomes. It takes a great deal of time, skill and adherence to a set of
recognized rules for you to develop a good multiple-choice item.
§ Components of Multiple- Choice Item
A standard multiple-choice item consists of two basic parts.
1) A problem (stem), which may be in form of a question or an

incomplete statement.
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2) A list of suggested solutions (alternative answers). The list of

alternatives contains one correct or best alternative (answer/key)
and a number of incorrect or inferior alternatives (distractors). The
purpose of the distractors is to appear as plausible solutions to the
problem for those students who have not achieved the objective
being measured by the test item. Conversely, the distractors must
appear as implausible solutions for those students who have
achieved the objectives being tested.
What are the two parts of a Multiple-choice test item?

3. 3. 1 Guidelines for Constructing Multiple-Choice Items
Here are some guidelines you should follow/adopt to enable you construct good
objective test items. These guidelines are specifically designed for the single-
answer and best-answer varieties of multiple-choice items. The rules are divided
into two categories:
A. Rules for Developing the Stem
1) Present a single clearly formulated problem in the stem of the

question. The stem of the question is the main part of the question
and should contain only information that is pertinent to the question
or problem and should be worded so that any good examinee can
understand what is expected of her/him to do.
2) State the stem of the item in simple, clear language. The problem in
the stem of a multiple-choice question should be stated clearly, using
straightforward vocabulary and should be free of unnecessary
complex wording and sentence structure.
3) If the same words or phrases are repeated in the options, write the
stem to include the repetitious material.
4) State the stem of the item in positive form wherever possible. Avoid
using negatives such as NO, NOT, and EXCEPT. If you most use a
negative word, write it in capital letters and underline it, also place it
near the end of the statement so that the test-taker will not miss it.
B. Rules for Developing the Options/ Alternative Answers
1) Make all options grammatically consistent with the stem of the item
and parallel in form. Be sure to check the options against the
wording in the stem to make sure they are grammatically consistent.
This will help to avoid easy elimination of options by the testees.
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2) Avoid giving clues to the correct answer by having word (s) in the
stem that can easily be linked to the correct answer. Below is an
example of a stem for a multiple choice question with a word that
easily leads to the correct answer.
Instruction : Complete the following sentence with one of the answer

options lettered a, b, c and d.
Question : The word used to describe a noun is called an ..
Answer : (a) adjective (b) pronoun (c) conjunction (d) verb
It is obvious that the testee will pick option (a) because the article an
goes with the vowel a in adjective.
3) Be sure that the distractors or wrong answers can attract examinees

that are lacking in knowledge about the concept the item is
assessing. Therefore, the incorrect answer choices should be
logically consistent with the stem and should represent common
errors made by weak students in a particular ability level.
4) Ensure that the length of the correct answer is about the same as
those of the incorrect answers. This will help to eliminate length as a
clue.
5) Use the option none of the above sparingly.The none of the
above option works better when the stem is asked as a question
rather than as a sentence to be completed. An incomplete sentence
rarely works because none of the above seldom completes the
stem grammatically. Nevertheless, the use of the none of the
above option should as much as possible be avoided.
6) Avoid the use of all of the above . This option type makes it
possible to answer the item on the basis of partial information.
7) Alphabetize the distractors and arrange numerical options in
ascending order, eg. A, b, c, d, or 1,2,3,4.
3. 4 Construction and Evaluation of Essay Questions:

Composition, Comprehension and Summary
Essay questions require that your students respond by writing one or more
sentences according to the tasks demanded. Examples of essay tests you
could give your students include: continuous writing (composition),
comprehension and summary tasks. These three make up one paper in most
public examinations conducted in Nigeria. (NECO, WAEC, NABTEB).
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3. 4. 1 Guidelines for Writing Composition Questions
1) Ask questions that will require your students to demonstrate

command of essential knowledge about the topic to write on.
2) Define the examinee s task as completely and specifically as
possible.
3) Give directives about any special instructions, for example, the
length required, the number of pages or the number of words, e.g.
400 words.
3.4.2 Guidelines for Correcting Essays: Preparing Marking

Scheme
Ø Before you start marking your students essay test, prepare a

marking scheme. A marking scheme is a set of criteria used in
assessing students answers on given essay topics. It provides
general guidelines to reduce subjectivity and increase reliability
in the marking.
Ø The answers you provide in the marking guide are mainly

suggested answers. During the marking of your students scripts,
you may likely come across some answers not stated in the
marking scheme which may also be correct.
Ø A marking scheme also specifies the marks obtainable. In a

marking scheme a slash (/) indicates alternative answers, any one
such answer is counted as correct. Brackets ( ) indicate optional
information, the mark is awarded whether the part in the bracket
is included or not.
3.4.3 Guidelines for Writing Reading Comprehension Questions
1) Use passages where you can ask question to test your students
ability to :
- Recall stated facts/information.

- Make inferences
- Make judgment/evaluation
- Make clausal/phrasal analysis
- Explain word-class questions
- Give synonyms/antonyms
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- Explain figures of speech
2) Be specific by stating if answers are to be written in complete

sentences, phrases or key words.
3.4.4 Guidelines for Writing Summary Questions
1) Pick passages where your students would be able to identify the

main idea in each paragraph.
2) Make sure the number of points (main ideas) in the passage are
equal to the number you request your students to write in the
question.
3.4.5 Practical Exercises To Illustrate the Guidelines Discussed Above
Sample Composition Question: Instruction- As part of the activities lined-

up for the Democracy Day Celebration in your Local Government Area, a
debate is being organized on the topic Multiplicity of parties has done
more harm than good to Democracy in Nigeria. As the Chief Speaker of
your group prepare a speech for or against this topic.
Marking guide/ scheme for marking the above composition.
Recall our explanation of what a marking guide is. We are now going
to use what we discussed to illustrate how to mark this composition.
Compositions are generally marked under four sections, namely,
content, organization, expression and mechanical accuracy, as shown
below.
CONTENT (15marks)
The candidate has been asked to prepare a speech for or against this topic.
This speech is to be delivered on the Democracy Day and the candidate is
the Chief Speaker. The candidate will explain the term multiplicity and
take a stand for or against. He will proffer three to four reasons to support
his/her stand on this topic .
ORGANIZATION (10marks)
This is a debate, therefore, all the usual vocatives of a debate are expected:
Chairman, Guest of Honour, Co-debaters, the audience, ladies and
gentlemen. Goodday/morning etc My name is --------- I am here to
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support/oppose the motion which says that ---------. We expect an

introductory paragraph and about three paragraphs where the candidate
develops and explains his/her reasons for the stand taken. There will be a
paragraph containing a logical conclusion based on the arguments made in
the body of the composition.
EXPRESSION (15marks)
Formal language is expected here. The candidate is expected to use a wide

range of vocabulary as well as appropriate registers of politics and
democracy aptly chosen for effectiveness.
MECHANICAL ACCURACY (10marks)
Penalize candidates for mechanical errors: spelling mistakes, wrong tenses,

wrong use of capital/small letters, wrong words etc. deduct ½ mark for
each error, for a maximum of twenty (20) errors.
Sample Comprehension Passage
Instructions: Read the passage below and answer the questions at the
end.
I was on top of one of my palm trees yesterday, tapping the tree and
collecting the wine for the morning, when I saw two soldiers at the
foot of the tree. They made signs at me, so I concluded that they
wanted my palmwine. On descending from the tree I gave them
some wine to sample as is customary. Not only did they drain all the
wine in the calabash, they said they wanted to conscript me into the
army. I asked them whether they wanted me or somebody else, and
they said they had come for me. I asked them whether an enemy sent
them or they came on their own. To cut it short, they said I was
wasting their time, as they had to catch twenty men that day. Only a
foolish man willingly disobeys armed soldiers. I told them I had
something very important to say.
Say it, then one of them cut in impatiently, looking at his watch. It
was approaching midday by which time it was considered unsafe to
drive around in a car for fear of enemy planes, which used to strafe
vehicles on the highway.
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Yes, what I want to say is simple I said, My first son; the boy who
should have succeeded me when I died joined the army voluntarily
and with my full backing. He was a brilliant boy, always first in his
class. He was in his last year at school when the war began. He was
killed. The two children who came after him are girls. The next boy
is still in primary school. If he were old enough, I would have asked
him to join the army, not minding the fact that my first son s head
had already been sacrificed to the same war. For no person who
breathes will say that he has no part in this war.
But let me add this. If this war has reached the stage when a man of
my age is given a rifle by force and sent to the war front, then the
time has come for you to blow the whistle. .
Questions
a) What does the narrator do for a living? (Factual question)

b) What did the soldiers come for? (Factual question)
c) Why did the narrator not have a substitute to give to the
soldiers? (Factual question)
d) What does the narrator mean by the last statement he made?
(Inference question)
e) Was the setting of the encounter with these solders, rural or
urban? Support your answer with evidence from the passage.
( inference question )
f) Was it wise for the narrator to speak to the solders the
way he did? ( Evaluative question )
g) Replace each of the following words used in the passage with
another that means the same thing.
i. descending
ii. sample
iii. drain
iv. strafe
v. backing (Synonyms)
Answers
a) A wine tapper
b) To force/ conscript him into the army
c) He had two daughters and a son who was too young to join
the army.
d) The war should be called off.
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e) The setting was rural as evidenced by the occupation of the

narrator etc
f) Answer according to one s opinion/ judgment
g) i getting down/climbing down
ii taste/try out/test
iii drink/sap/exhaust/consume
iv bomb
v support/approval/encouragement
Sample Summary Passage
Instructions: Read the passage below and answer the questions at the end.
Over the years, there has been this hue and cry by governments and public
policy advisers against the phenomenon of the urban-rural drift. Researches
have been conducted on various aspects of this phenomenon, which have
resulted in the identification of the various causes and consequences of it.
In addition prescriptions have been given for controlling the rural-urban
drift. Among the causes most often mentioned are population pressures in
some rural areas resulting in dwindling farm lands, increasing school
enrolments and the resultant rise in educational levels, which qualify many
people for urban employment; higher wages in the urban centres relative to
rural centers and the rather naïve one of the bright lights in the cities so
much touted by early foreign sociologists. The most often mentioned
consequences of this rural-urban migration include depopulation of the
rural areas leading to overcrowding of the cities and the resultant housing
and sanitation problems. Decline in the agricultural population resulting in
less food crops being grown and high food prices in the cities and
increasing urban unemployment. The results of the phenomenon are seen
largely as negative.
Measures to control the rural-urban drift include the establishment of
essential amenities like water, electricity, hospitals, colleges and cinema
houses, the location of employment generating establishments and the
building of good interconnecting roads. The sum total of these prescriptions
in essence unwittingly or paradoxically, is for the rural areas to be
transformed into urban centers. This is so because to industrialize the rural
areas would draw many more people out of agriculture than if industries
were restricted to urban centers.
Questions
a) In three sentences state the causes of rural-urban drift.
128
b) In three sentences state the consequences of rural-

urban drift.
Answers
a) The causes of rural-urban drift are:

i. population explosion in some rural areas,
ii. increase in the number of children attending
school, and
iii. the social life (bright lights) in the cities.
b) The consequences of rural-urban drift include:

i. depopulation of rural areas,
ii. reduction in the number of people involved in
agriculture, and
iii. urban unemployment.
4. 0 CONCLUSION
The most important consideration in constructing language test items is the

use for which it is intended. Thus, for you to construct good, reliable and
valid tests you should take note of the teaching and content objectives and
the methodology of instruction.
5. 0 SUMMARY
In this unit, you were exposed to the distinction between discrete-point tests
and integrative tests. We also discussed some guidelines on the
construction of objective and essay questions as well as how to prepare
marking scheme for correcting essay answers.
6. 0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIBNMENT
1) Select a newspaper article of about one typed page, single

spacing, and construct two of each of these types of questions:
factual, inferential and evaluative .
Alderson, J. C.; Clapham, C & Wall, D. (2001). Language test construction

and evaluation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
129
Harris, D. P. (1969). Testing English as a second language. New York:

McGraw Hill
Lado, R. (1961). Language testing. London: Longman
McNamara, T. (2000). Language testing. Oxford: Oxford University Press
130
UNIT 3 WRITING SCHEME OF WORK AND LESSON

PLANS
CONTENTS
1. 0 Introduction
2. 0 Objectives
3. 0 Main Content
3. 1 Curriculum and Syllabus
3. 1. 1 Types of Syllabi
3. 2 What is a Scheme of Work?
3. 2. 1 Features of A Scheme of Work.
3. 3 What is a Lesson Plan?
3. 3. 1 Elements of a Lesson Plan
4. 0 Conclusion
5. 0 Summary
1. 0 INTRODUCTION
This unit begins with an overview of the concepts; curriculum and syllabus.
In the Nigeria context, subject experts in collaboration with the Ministry of
Education prepare the curriculum as well as the syllabus. This is then made
available to schools either federal or state. Our focus in this unit will be on
how to use the curriculum and syllabus to develop planning instruments for
effective teaching. These instruments are the scheme of work and lesson
plans.
2. 0 OBJECTIVES
• distinguish between a curriculum and syllabus

• distinguish between a teaching syllabus and an examination syllabus
• describe the features of a scheme of work
• describe the elements of a lesson plan
• develop lesson plans for teaching language and literature topics
• evaluate lesson plans
131
3. 0 MAIN CONENT
3. 1 Curriculum and Syllabus
In practice you do not have direct involvement in the preparation of these

two planning instruments. However, you need to be familiar with them as
you will need them to develop your scheme of work and lesson plans.
Definition of Curriculum
v A curriculum is the cornerstone of a school instructional programme

and reflects the philosophical and psychological beliefs about what
learners need to know and be able to do to succeed in school. It sets
the goals and objectives of learning a particular subject and outlines
the content to teach as well as the methodologies and techniques of
teaching and assessing students learning of the subject. A well
developed curriculum will specify the knowledge, skills, insights
and attitudes that learners will be expected to acquire, develop and
use. These will constitute the goals and objectives of instruction.
The curriculum will also spell out the in class and out of class
learning activities /learning experiences that learners will engage
in during the process of learning and the teacher s activities-
namely, the selection of content to teach, the methods and
strategies that he/she would use to teach and assess the learners.
A good example of a curriculum manual is the National
Curriculum for Junior/Senior Secondary Schools Volumes 1
and 2 : English Language
Definition of Syllabus
The syllabus is drawn from the curriculum. The syllabus contains a list of
topics in a given subject to teach the learners. It acts as a guide for both you
and your students. It specifies the content, recommended text books and
other learning materials that students will use to learn. Sometimes, a
syllabus could suggest teaching approaches and methods that teachers
could use to teach and assess learners. It is from the syllabus that the
scheme of work is drawn.
132
3. 1. 1 Types of Syllabus
There are basically two types of syllabi. These are:
v Teaching Syllabus
A teaching syllabus specifies how a particular subject should be analyzed

or viewed for the purpose of teaching it. It is usually based on a set of
beliefs/philosophy which guides the teacher on the methods and strategies
to employ.
v Examination Syllabus
A language examination syllabus specifies the topics and contents of what

your students will be assessed on. Examination bodies prepare examination
syllabi. Most public examination bodies such as WAEC, NECO and
NABTEB review their examination syllabus every three years.
Distinguish between a curriculum and a syllabus.
3. 2 What is a Scheme of Work?
A scheme of work is a sort of directory of the work to be done in a

specified period of time usually in one term. It serves the purpose of
providing you with a pathway through a section of the syllabus. Usually it
is good to write or prepare monthly scheme of work in order to repeat
aspects students do not understand. Even in subjects like English language,
weekly scheme of work is preferable.
3. 2. 1 Features of a Scheme of Work
When you go on your supervised teaching practice, you will need to plan
the whole work you will teach the class while you are there. This plan
known as the scheme of work must be based on the syllabus, which has
already been developed by the Ministry of Education for use at either the
federal or state levels. To prepare your scheme of work you must look at
the following:
133
• The list of topics and skills in the syllabus.

• The total time allocated for teaching in weeks and periods. This will
aid you in deciding how much time to allocate to learning each topic
and list what topic or skill you will teach each week or period
• You may need to prepare two different types of scheme of work:
- A general one showing the topics you will teach during the
whole term.
- A more detailed one to break down each topic into steps to
be taught in each period or lesson.
There are several ways of writing a scheme of work, but the best way is to
present it in a tabular form. A typical scheme of work will have the
following columns:
Scheme of Work Format
Week Period Topic Objectives Teacher s Students Teaching References Teaching

activities activities Aids Strategies
I 1
2
3
4
5
II 1
2
3
4
5
o Week: the week in the term; 1, 2, 3, etc

o Period: the period in the week; 1, 2, 3, etc
o Topic: the contents/skills to be learned
o Objective: the basic objective(s) of learning each topic
o Teacher s Activities: what the teacher will do
o Students Activities: what the students will do.
o Teaching Aids: materials to aid teaching.
o Reference Books: the course book.
o Teaching Strategies: Repetition/Questioning/Summary etc
134
Where do you draw your scheme of work?
3. 3 What is a Lesson Plan?
A lesson plan is an elaboration of the scheme of work. It separates the

activities of the teacher from those of the students.
Lesson Note: A lesson note is a detailed version of the lesson plan. It is

usually the teacher s detailed notes where he/she puts everything he/she has
to offer for a particular lesson. It is usually in essay format. It has the same
preamble as the lesson plan. However, the students activities and the
teacher s activities are mixed up.
3. 3. 1 Elements of a Lesson Plan
There are certain elements you should take note of when preparing your
lesson plan.
• Topic: For each lesson whether it will last for one hour or three
hours it is essential that you treat a main topic. E.g. Reading to
identify main and detailed ideas
• Objectives: the objectives will help you limit or specify the scope of
the lesson. The number of objectives will vary depending on the
content of the lesson but probably range between two to five
objectives.
• Teacher s Activities: these are the actions you will be taking during
the course of the lesson.
• Students Activities: these are the activities students will be engaged
in while learning. They include cloze exercises, games, writing,
speaking and so on.
• Evaluation: The purpose of evaluation is to check if students have
attained the objectives of the lesson. Evaluation can range from
informal to formal.
A Lesson Plan for Teaching Poetry
Class: JSS II
No on Roll: 45
Age: 12 years
Topic: Simile and Metaphor
135
Date: 9th October 2009

Time: 10.00 10.40 am
Duration: 40 minutes
Entry Behaviour: Students already know about figurative
language
Behavioural Objectives: By the end of this lesson the students
should be able to:
- identify similes and metaphors in poems.

- interpret similes and metaphors used in
communication
- Use similes and metaphors in oral and written
communication.
v Presentation
No of Lesson content Teacher s Students Activities Teaching

Minutes Activities Aids/Materials
3 Revision of Teacher revises Students will revise
previous use of figurative their knowledge by
knowledge on language with answering the
Figurative students. teacher s questions
language.
5 Introduction of The teacher asks Students listen and Pictures, Charts etc
the new lesson general questions contribute if
leading into the necessary.
topic.
6 Definition of Teacher displays Students read the Chart showing the
simile a chart showing poem and identify poems.
the introductory the similes.
poems and
defines simile.
6 Definition of The teacher Students identify Chart showing the
metaphor. defines metaphor. metaphors in the poems.
poem
7 Changing The teacher leads Students change Charts, flash cards, strip
similes to the discussion by similes to metaphors of papers etc.
metaphors and using prompting and vice versa
metaphors to questions on following teacher s
similes changing similes leading questions.
to metaphors and
vice versa.
6 Revision of Teacher leads Students join in the Charts, flash cards etc
points not students in discussion of such
clarified discussing areas ideas, answering
properly after not fully questions and
the initial discussed or contributing
introduction of understood generally.
the topic. initially.
136
5 Evaluation Teacher asks Students answer Chart or Blackboard

questions on the teacher s questions. summary of the
following: questions
1. Identification
of simile.
2. Identification
of metaphor.
3. Changing
simile to
metaphor and
vice versa..
2 Assignment The teacher gives Students take note of
further the given
assignment. assignment.
Sample Poems
Simile
My Tree Jessie
She lives with branches like arms

Wide and long they grow
She sings her song of the wind
Leaves rustling like nails clicking
Little flakes of bark peeling just like the skins of desert rocks
She feels wrinkly like a rhino s skin
She smells like flowers
And in the dead of night she waits
What Am I Sophie
A small pink nose as soft as a rose

A pair of beady eyes as black as the night
Two tiny ears as smooth as a feather
A long brown tail as twisty as a willow tree branch
An oval little body the size of an egg

Fine little whiskers as shiny as a star
Small scuttling feet as fast as lighting
What am I? Who am I? Can you guess?
137
Metaphor
The Crab Catherine & Jelly

The crab is
A dancing pair of scissors
Cutting up water all the time.
It s face is a red hot sun
Burning the sand to dust.
It is a dancing teacher
Waiting for it s students.
Dreams Langston Hughes
Hold fast to dreams

For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams

For when dreams go
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
4. 0 CONCLUSION
Adequate knowledge of the preparation of these planning instruments;

curriculum, syllabus, scheme of work, lesson plans and lesson notes is of
utmost importance to you. It places you in a better stead to face teaching
either during your supervised teaching practice or later in your career as a
classroom teacher.
5. 0 SUMMARY
In this unit, we discussed the relevance of curriculum and syllabus in

teaching and learning programmes. We also discussed how to prepare the
scheme of work and lesson plan.
1. Name the two broad classifications of teaching syllabus.
138
2. What two things will you bear in mind when preparing your scheme
of work?
3. What is a lesson plan? Develop a lesson plan to teach students to

evaluate and infer.
Dubin, F. & Olstitain, E. (1986). Course design: Developing programmes

and materials for language learning. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Krahnke, K. (1988). Approaches to syllabus design for foreign language

teaching. New York: Prentice-Hill/Regents
Nunan, D. (1988). Syllabus design. Oxford: Oxford University Press
139

Edu 306 English Subject Methods

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NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA

COURSE CODE: EDU 720

COURSE TITLE: ENGLISH METHODS

EDU 720 ENGLISH METHODS

COURSE DEVELOPER Dr. Uche M. Okonkwo

COURSE WRITTER Dr. R. B. Danner

COURSE EDITOR Dr. Uche M. Okonkwo

PROGRAMME LEADER Dr. Uche M. Okonkwo

COURSE CORDINATOR Dr Dorathy Ufoha

3.0 MAIN CONTENT

3.1 Introduction to the Course Guide

available services to support your learning, information on assignments and

3.2 A Guide Through the Course

3.2.1 Course Aims and Objectives

• discuss the major approaches to teaching English as a second language;

3.2.2 Course Materials and Structure

Module 1 introduces you to the major approaches to teaching English as a second

2 Basic Steps in Language Test Construction

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Graham, J. (1994). Four strategies to improve the speech of adult

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Nichols, R.G. (1973). Factors in listening comprehension. Speech

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Alexandria, V.A. ( ). Teachers of English to Speakers of other

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Brown, H.D. (2001). Teaching by principles: An interactive

Burley-Allen, M. (1982). Listening: The forgotten skill. New York:

Carrel, P, Devine, J. and Eskey, D. (eds) (1988). Interactive

Carter, R, Hughes, R. and McCarthy, M. (2000). Exploring

Carter, R. and Long, M.N. (1991). Teaching literature. Harlow:

Carter, R. and McCarthy, M. (1988). Vocabulary and language

Celce-Murcia, M. and Hilles, S. (1988). Techniques and resources

Coady, J. (1997). Vocabulary acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge

Dubin, F. and Olstitain, E. (1986). Course design: Developing

Duff, A. and Maley, A. (1990). Literature. Oxford: Oxford

Harris, D.P. (1969). Testing English as a second language. New

Hedge, T. (1988). Writing. London:

Howatt, A.P. and Widdowson, H.G. (1985). A history of ELT

Koda, K. (2005). Insights into second language: A cross-linguistic

Krahnke, K. (1988). Approaches to syllabus design for foreign

Larzar, G. (1991). Literature and language teaching. Cambridge:

Laye, V. (1979). Teaching to read and understand. In E.

McNamara, T. (2000). Language testing. Oxford: Oxford

Nunan, D. (1988). Syllabus design. Oxford: Oxford University