N. Grimm / M. Meyer / L. Volkmann
Teaching English
Narr Francke Attempto Verlag GmbH + Co. KG
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This volume bridges the gap between theoretical approaches to foreign language teaching and the needs of lecturers, students, teacher trainees, and those teaching at the grassroots level. This book should help readers to profit from their own learning and teaching of English through reflected practice. Using English as a target language and language of communication, we apply Content and Language Integrated Learning to Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). Technical terms will also be presented in German (unless the translation is evident) in order to facilitate the transfer to Studienseminare.
Teaching English covers – and reflects on – major issues and current trends in language learning and teaching, such as the turns towards constructivism, differentiation, empiricism, output-orientation, inter-/transcultural learning, and multimedia. The balance of practice and reflection in each chapter enables a flexible use of this volume in various teaching approaches. The sequence of the topics is structured for systematic introductions over the course of a semester. The first four chapters provide the historical background, the political framework, and the conceptual basis of TEFL in Educational Studies, Psychology, and Linguistics. All of the major topics of TEFL presented in the subsequent parts rely on this groundwork. In addition, individual readers can study the chapters in any order because core concepts are clearly defined at their first occurrence in the book and referenced in later chapters. The highlighting of key terms and important phrases, frequent cross-references, as well as the recapitulation and differentiation of core principles are designed to facilitate learning in the shape of a spiral curriculum.
Each chapter comes with a thought-provoking cartoon, an overview of the learning objectives, key concepts, study questions, rewarding examples of classroom activities, and recommended reading. Additional material in the form of PowerPoint-presentations for teaching TEFL and pdf-files for learners is provided online. Additional examples of classroom activities are also available online at www.bachelor-wissen.de/9783823368311.
Nancy Grimm deserves special recognition: in addition to writing ‘her parts’ of the book and competently commenting on the others, she masterminded the organization of the project with enormous zeal and great efficiency. Ultimately, each chapter gradually developed in a long and truly collaborative process. Many thanks are due to everyone who gave us plenty of helpful feedback on various chapters: the colleagues Melanie Green, Constanze Juchem-Grund[XII]mann, Andrew Liston, Christian Ludwig, Carol Ann Martin, Nicole Maruo-Schröder, Peter Starling, Fred Thompson, John Thomson, and Kim Willis, the teachers Peter Hohwiller and Sieglinde Spath, the students Jason D. Smith, Kirsten Weise, Benedikt Mediger, who prepared the groundwork for the PowerPoint-presentations. We would also like to thank Kathrin Heyng from Narr Verlag for her patience and her careful reading of the whole script. Last but not least, special thanks to Teresa Mönnich (aka Frollein Motte, www.frolleinmotte.com), whose cheeky as well as thought-provoking cartoons add extra spice to each of the chapters.
Jena and Koblenz, Spring 2015 N. Grimm – M. Meyer – L. Volkmann
Teaching English as a Foreign Language
Current educational standards and curricula
Teacher education in Germany
Recommended reading
AbstractThis chapter provides the historical background and current framework of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). The overview of the historical development of basic issues in teaching and learning foreign languages helps to understand and evaluate contemporary discussions of language education and the development of TEFL in Germany within the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEF, Gemeinsamer Europäischer Referenzrahmen für Sprachen). This chapter ends with a glance at the education and practical training of English teachers in Germany.
Have a look at the cartoon on the next page: on the basis of your own experience, think about central aims, problems, and methods of teaching and learning English. Which of these do you consider to be fundamental at any time, and for which reasons?
William Hogarth: Scholars at a Lecture (1736)
The significance of (foreign) language teaching and learning is dependent upon a framework of social, economic, political, cultural, and academic interests, which have varied across history. It would be tempting – but wrong – to tell a linear story of progress in language teaching and learning. Many of the issues debated today have been part and parcel of teaching and learning languages since time immemorial. Pertinent topics include (1) principles of language acquisition and teaching a foreign language (FL), and (2) the political decision whether to train practical language skills only or pursue further educational objectives.
Latin and GreekEnglish is not the first and only global language. In the Roman Empire, Latin served as a lingua franca, a common language used among speakers not sharing a native language (cf. James 2008: 134, Musumeci 2011: 43). In the Middle Ages, the alliance of the church and the state in Europe was firmly based on Christianity. Many political and legal documents employed Latin, as did formal education and the central medium of religious service, the Bible. Renaissance Humanists of the 15th and 16th centuries favored Greek over Latin in order to be able to read fundamental literary, political, and philosophical texts to provide a rounded education (Allgemeinbildung) for a rather small elite.
[3]Johan-Amos Comenius
Early methodsThe early modern period from the 15th to the 17th century was dominated by two models of teaching and learning a FL: (1) the instruction in FL as a system and (2) learning a modern FL for communicative purposes – often in the form of pattern drills to habitualize formulaic expressions: (1) using the Grammar-Translation Method, the Jesuits gave students Latin sample sentences and explained the words and the rules of grammar in detail and in the students’ native language (cf. Musumeci 2011: 51–53). (2) However, international tradesmen acquired oral skills in the modern languages of their customers in order to negotiate business deals. The Czech scholar Comenius (see fig. 1.2), who was frustrated with the slow progress of language learners, found fault with the Grammar-Translation Method and the instructional material used. He considered efficient learning as a motivating process that should move from simple to complex issues and from content to form. He argued for a holistic style of learning (ganzheitliches Lernen), for which he developed multilingual textbooks with pictures and stories (e.g., Latin/English; see ch. 9.3). His objectives for foreign language learning were both practical communication and knowledge of the language system. In addition to learning their own language and Latin in vernacular schools at home, students should study modern languages abroad – an approach to FL learning which today is called ‘immersion’ (cf. Musumeci 2011: 54–58; see ch. 4.4).
The English philosopher and teacher John Locke (1693) considered the Grammar-Translation Method as an apt way of teaching the reading of classical Latin texts, but recommended early beginning in modern foreign languages according to what is now called the Direct or Natural Method. Based on mechanisms of learning the mother tongue, and on the observation that learning grammar rules at school is far less efficient than practicing communication with a native speaker, he advocated extensive monolingual input and practice in the foreign language. The teacher should form the model to be emulated, using playful exercises rather than painful drills. Practice should take the form of playful habit formation through imitating good examples, being more effective than rules children forget, and mistakes should be avoided and immediately corrected. Locke’s ideas apprehended those of the German reform movement and also Behaviorism (see ch. 3.2.1).
FrenchFrom the 17th to the late 19th century, the German upper class admired the French aristocracy both for their lifestyle and the philosophy of Enlightenment. French was considered the language of diplomacy and refined culture. It is often argued that French followed Latin as a lingua franca of international relations in Europe, but one must not forget that many members of the lower classes did not have the opportunity to attend schools regularly and were barely able to read – let alone speak – any foreign language before the end of the 18th century.
The spread of EnglishWith the rise of the British Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries, followed by the global dominance of the USA in the 20th century, English became a [4]world language. Some consider this a blessing, others a curse: in British colonies such as India or South Africa, educating the elite in English existed parallel to educating the rest of the population in their native tongues. However, British imperialists only trained the local elites to enlist their collaboration in running – and exploiting – their countries. In other British colonies, such as in Ireland, Canada, and New Zealand, the native cultures were repressed. Indigenous children were compelled to attend colonial schools, were forbidden to speak their native tongues, and were alienated from their own cultures with the aim to control them and form them into British subjects (cf. Phillipson 1992, 2010). The decline of the British Empire after World War II did not diminish the role of English in the world. Many former colonies did not completely turn their backs on Great Britain but rather joined the Commonwealth and formed their political and educational institutions along British lines, many of them pragmatically choosing English as one of their national languages. One can regard English as the key to empowerment or reject it as a killer language (cf. Schneider 2011: 213–15). Brutt-Griffler (2008: 30–31) argues that the major problem of the underprivileged is less the loss of their indigenous languages and cultures than the limited access to English as a skill required for economic participation and social rise. She regards this restriction as a colonial legacy of maintaining a manual labor force that served the imperial economy and now sustains class differences. In South Africa and in India, where English is one of several national languages, many middle-class families send their children to secondary schools in which English is the medium of instruction (see fig. 1.3). Since many of these schools charge fees the poor cannot afford, they are effectively excluded from advanced English deemed essential for white-collar jobs in, for example, the fields of IT, finance, or administration (cf. Brutt-Griffler 2008: 32–33; Verma 2008: 42–44, 47–49).
Rural English school in Zimbabwe (1992)
Language as threatSome consider the global US-American influence a great progressive force as politicians and the film industry have disseminated values and vistas of a democratic and capitalist culture as a potentially liberating alternative to authoritarian and repressive traditions. Others have criticized the rise of ‘American cultural imperialism’ as the ‘McDonaldization’ of the world (cf. Bryman 2004, Ritzer 2011). Linguists advocating language rights, such as Phillipson and Skutnabb-Kangas (cf. 2011: 28–30), consider the domination and teaching of English in close connection to US-American neoliberal ideology and economy as linguistic imperialism that continues colonial practices even today. Education in the medium of English deprives indigenous and minority children of their languages and the “intergenerational transfer” of culture and identity: English ‘kills’ other languages and cultures if it is not added as an L2 to education in the mother tongue (ibid.: 33–34). Whichever perspective is taken, Great Britain and the USA have been major forces in driving globalization and making English a global language.
[5]What are the most important historical models of language teaching and learning, and what are their major features? Can you identify tasks you used to learn or teach a FL that fit these models? How effective were these?
Today, English has become the lingua franca of the world and dominates popular culture, the Internet, trade, finance, politics, and academia. However, which Englishes are used around the world and which are taught and learned? In the ‘non-native-English peripheries’ across the world, English has been appropriated and adapted to serve local purposes, establishing hybrid and heterogeneous world Englishes. According to Kachru (cf. 1996: n.p.), the Inner Circle of English consists of countries in which English is a native language (e.g., USA, UK, Australia), the Outer Circle of countries in which English serves as an official second language (L2; e.g., India, Nigeria, Singapore), and the Expanding Circle of countries in which English is studied as a FL (e.g., South America, Japan, China). Kachru’s model raises the question of who is the more competent speaker in which situation. In some cases, the non-native, plurilingual (mehrsprachig) speaker of English may have an advantage over the native monolingual one (cf. Harmer 2007: 18).
Standard British English (BE, RP) and standard American English (SAE or GA) enjoy a great deal of prestige, which pays off for many learners and institutions alike. Mastering standard English forms cultural capital ( knowledge and education), social capital (esteem and status), and economic capital (job opportunities): thus, English has become a valuable commodity (cf. Verma 2008: 44). Schools and universities in Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and the USA attract students from around the world and charge considerable fees. Native speaker teachers from these countries are in great demand in the language programs at many schools and universities in non-Anglophone countries.
World EnglishWithout a doubt, the local appropriation of English by non-native speakers has resulted in the development of numerous varieties of English with differences in vocabulary, grammar, and syntax (cf. Mair 2003: xviii-xix; Schneider 2011: 54–59, 189–205). As an alternative to the Anglo-American standards and to diverse global varieties of the language, linguists are discussing the development of Global English or World Standard English. However the problem is how to define its structural, sociolinguistic, and historical-political characteristics (cf. Gnutzmann 2008: 109, 113–14; James 2008). The most important purpose of English as a lingua franca is intelligibility, and features of standard English not relevant to understanding are often disregarded, such as the pronunciation of the phoneme / th/ (*/dis/), the inflection of the verb in the third [6]person (*he talk), or ‘would’ in if-clauses (*If she would come, I would be there; cf. James 2008: 135–40; Jenkins 2008: 146–49).
Imagine you are participating in a meeting of the Standing Commission of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder (Kultusministerkonferenz or KMK) and are involved in a discussion on FL teaching. Find pros and cons of why English as a first FL should be complemented or even replaced with Spanish, Russian, or Chinese. In a group of four, one group member defends English against others who advocate one other language each. What are the most important reasons for/against English as the first FL in schools?
Discuss reasons for/against learning standard British or American English according to the native-speaker norm.
BeginningsHow has the German educational system responded to the global rise of English? In the 18th century, English gained some ground in schools that focused on the education of the urban middle class, which included reading English literature and works of philosophy or practicing oral communication (cf. Hüllen 2005: 66). In the three-tiered and class-based 19th century system of the Volksschule for the common people (grades 1–8), the Realschule (grades 5–10) and the Gymnasium for the middle and upper classes (grades 5–13), the majority of the population was not taught any FL at all. Gradually, English became the second modern FL next to French in the Realschule, and a third or fourth option next to Latin and Greek in the Gymnasium. In the Gymnasium, teaching English in the classroom was often modeled on the Grammar-Translation Method used for Latin. The explicit teaching of vocabulary and grammar should enable students to ultimately read literary and philosophical ‘classics’ in order to support their general education.
Wilhelm Viëtor
Reform movementIn the late 19th century, Viëtor (see fig. 1.4) called for a reform of language education with a pamphlet entitled Der Sprachunterricht muss umkehren (1882/1905). Instead of focusing on an elitist form of higher education, FL instruction should concentrate on functional skills of oral communication and knowledge about the target country (‘Realienkunde,’ today known as Landeskunde; see ch. 7.1.2). Viëtor advocated the so-called Direct or Natural Method, employing the FL as the medium of instruction in order to promote oral skills besides studying authentic texts. At the same time, the Berlitz schools were among the first institutions which implemented the monolingual, direct method of immersion in order to offer a fast track form of FL education (cf. Christ 2010: 18). It took about forty years to adopt the reformers’ [7]demands for something like Landeskunde as a classroom topic, and about one hundred years to implement communicative and intercultural competences on a broad scale.
Volks- und RassenkundeIn the 1920s, the target culture was taught in comparison to one’s own culture, enhancing the awareness of national culture, which in fact supported the construction of stereotypes. In the 1930s, the fascists elected English as the first FL and fostered learning about culture in order to prove the superiority of German national culture (cf. Hüllen 2005: 126). Despite all their rhetoric about the Volk, the fascists maintained traditional class discrimination in education: the majority of learners – in the Volksschule – had no FL classes at all.
After World War IIDue to the separation of spheres of political influence among the USA, France, Great Britain, and Russia after 1945, the Federal Republic of Germany introduced English as a first FL in all secondary schools, and the German Democratic Republic Russian as the first FL. In the 1970s, Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) shifted the priority from teaching knowledge about language (grammar and syntax) to performance in language (e.g., listening comprehension and speaking; see chs. 4.3.1, 6).
21st centuryToday, teachers of English face multiple challenges:
The pragmatic communicative approach to teaching and learning foreign languages put forward in the CEF has changed educational standards from a focus on content to testable output (see ch. 12.1).
The learning objective of the native-speaker standard has been replaced by the norm of the plurilingual speaker, who connects his or her competences in diverse languages and cultures in order to communicate effectively with different interlocutors (cf. Council of Europe 2001: 4–5, Byram 1997, Schneider 2011: 226; see ch. 7).
Early foreign language teaching and learning (Fremdsprachenfrühbeginn) has been widely proclaimed as the best solution for promoting excellent language competences (see ch. 4.5).
Bilingual or Content and Language Integrated Learning has gained ground in Germany and is increasingly implemented in primary and secondary schools (bilingualer Unterricht; see ch. 4.4).
The digital revolution and the transformation of the Internet into a mass medium has increased the media repertoire for schools in general and for the FL classroom in particular (see chs. 2.1.4, 9.4).
The policy of inclusion increases heterogeneity among learners and demands more differentiation (see ch. 6.3).
If the introduction of CLT in the 1970s led to the biggest change in 20th-century language education, then the ‘PISA-shock’ of the year 2000 and the publication of the CEF in 2001 initiated a revision of language teaching and learning for the 21st century. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) started PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) in order to test the learning outcomes of 15-year-old learners in reading, mathematical, and scientific literacy across Europe. Germany, which had always taken pride in its educational system, was shocked to learn that the overall performance of its learners was below the OECD average of more than 50 countries.
A common frameworkThe CEF has served to redefine language learning policy in Germany. The objectives of the CEF are quite comprehensive, straddling the general divide between pragmatic and educational aims of language learning:
Communicative skills in foreign languages
Intercultural communicative competence
Individual education and emancipation
Social skills and values
Economic empowerment and mobility
Political participation in a democratic and multicultural Europe
Learner-centered methods of teaching
In spite of the claim that the CEF only aims at making policy makers, teachers, and learners reflect on language education without “tak[ing] position on theories of language acquisition and learning or approaches to teaching” (Council of Europe 2001: 18), the CEF does, however, advance certain arguments in greater detail, such as the demise of the native-speaker model, the concept of the learner as a social agent, and language as (inter-)action. The CEF favors an action-oriented approach to language and a task-based one to learning. Individual members of society are understood as social agents, who use all of their competences to solve tasks together with other people in particular circumstances:
Language use, embracing language learning, comprises the actions performed by persons who as individuals and as social agents develop a range of competences, both general and in particular communicative language competences. They draw on the competences at their disposal in various contexts under various conditions and under various constraints to engage in language activities involving language processes to produce and/or receive texts in relation to themes in specific domains, activating those strategies which seem most appropriate for carrying [9]out the tasks to be accomplished. The monitoring of these actions by the participants leads to the reinforcement or modification of their competences. (Council of Europe 2001: 9, emphasis added)
Competence is a comprehensive and fuzzy term. The CEF merges and goes beyond the conventional linguistic concepts of competence as knowledge of the language system and performance as its usage. However, the CEF is aware of the problems of merging competence and performance: certain conditions and constraints – for example, noise, the number of interlocutors, psychological stress (time pressure, exams) – may interfere with the display of competences in performances (cf. ibid.: 48–49). The CEF subsumes knowledge, know-how, ability, and skills under the heading of competences, as the following list reveals (cf. ibid.: 11–14, 101–09; see chs. 6.1, 7.2.2).
CEF competencesGeneral competences:
Declarative knowledge (savoir; knowing what, including sociocultural and intercultural knowledge)
Know-how and skills (savoir-faire, including sociocultural and intercultural know-how)
Existential competences (savoir-être; personality traits, points of view, attitudes)
The ability to learn (savoir apprendre; e.g., learner strategies, metacognitive awareness, media literacy)
Communicative language competences:
Linguistic competence about language structures and how to use these (vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation and intonation, spelling)
Reception (listening and reading)
Production (speaking and writing)
Interaction
Mediation
In order to avoid confusion, ‘competence’ will be used henceforth as a superordinate category including knowledge and performance, such as communicative or intercultural competence, and ‘skill’ as a subordinate category that refers to listening, speaking, reading, writing, and mediating.
Reference levelsApart from the competences summarized above, the CEF established six reference levels, which are specified in ‘can do’-descriptors (ibid: 24; see fig. 1.5):
CEF common reference levels – global scale
Proficient User | C2 | Can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read. Can summarise information from different spoken and written sources, reconstructing arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation. Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in more complex situations. |
C1 | Can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognize implicit meaning. Can express him/herself fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Can use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Can produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices. | |
Independent User | B2 | Can understand the main ideas of complex text [sic.!] on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialisation. Can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without strain for either party. Can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options. |
B1 | Can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc. Can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken. Can produce simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest. Can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans. | |
Basic User | A2 | Can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas of most immediate relevance (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment). Can communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters. Can describe in simple terms aspects of his/her background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need. |
A1 | Can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type. Can introduce him/herself and others and can ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, people he/she knows and things he/she has. Can interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help. |
[10]Read through the descriptors for the different levels and rate your own language competence. In your opinion, which levels of language proficiency are expected of FL learners in, for example, grades four, ten, and twelve? Check your predictions against the reference levels postulated in the curriculum for the level and type of school you are teaching at or want to teach at.
The CEF has shifted attention from the input of teaching (next to communicative skills) to the output of learning and the testing of functional competences. This document has had an enormous impact on educational policy making and test design, on teaching, and on academic debates: the KMK used the CEF as the framework of the national educational standards in Bildungsstandards für die erste Fremdsprache (Englisch/Französisch) für den Hauptschulabschluss (2004), für den Mittleren Abschluss (2003), and für die fortgeführte Fremdsprache (Englisch/Französisch) für die Allgemeine Hochschulreife (2012a). The KMK has also created its own comprehensive list of competences for the Sekundarstufe I (see fig. 1.6).
KMK competencesKMK competence framework (Kultusministerkonferenz 2003: 8)
Funktionale kommunikative Kompetenzen | |
Kommunikative Fertigkeiten | Verfügung über die sprachlichen Mittel |
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Interkulturelle Kompetenzen | |
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Methodische Kompetenzen | |
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TestingAll over Europe, the CEF has influenced and validates the design of language tests (see the Association of Language Testers in Europe, www.alte.org; The European Language Certificates, www.sprachenzertifikate.de; the European Association for Quality Language Services, www.eaquals.org). Following the guidelines of the CEF, the KMK monitors the outcome of language education through the development and implementation of comparative tests.
DESIThe DESI test (Deutsch-Englisch Schülerleistungen International, 2003–2004) comprehensively examined the skills of listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing, language awareness, and intercultural awareness. DESI has revealed considerable heterogeneity in competence levels in all school types, fairly poor skills in listening and reading comprehension across the [12]board, but better results in oral and written skills. In general, female and plurilingual learners scored better than male learners with a monolingual background. In addition, video recordings show that teachers talk most of the time in spite of the fact that communicative approaches to teaching and learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL) should provide plenty of opportunities for learners to interact (cf. Zydatiß 2005: 320, Nold et al. 2006).
VERAVERA (VERgleichs Arbeiten) is a test taken a year before students finish primary school (VERA 3) or secondary school (VERA 8) in order to give both teachers and learners feedback on what to improve to meet the required competence levels at the end of their level of schooling. However, VERA 2009 only examined listening and reading comprehension, a fact that might be related to both easy empirical assessment and to the problems the DESI test of 2003–2004 revealed in these particular skills (see above).
PortfolioThe European language portfolio complements the institutional monitoring of competences (Council of Europe 2011). A portfolio is the collection of a learner’s output such as written exercises, drafts of essays, or results from project work, which documents the learner’s progress and proficiency (see ch. 12.5.2). It aims at motivating learners to become aware of (plurilingual) language acquisition within and outside of school, to assess their own skills, to identify their strengths, and to assume responsibility for their own learning with regard to their aims, fostering both self-esteem and life-long learning. Apart from the functions for the learner, the portfolio may be used as additional information for school or job applications.
Impact of the CEFMany teachers are vaguely familiar with the CEF and do not see how it makes a difference in the classroom (cf. Beer 2007, Vogt 2012: 87–88). One might say that they have a point because communicative competence, a core element of the CEF, has formed the central goal of teaching for decades. However, since the German federal states used the more comprehensive CEF as a framework for educational standards and subsequent curricula, pre- and in-service teachers must have noticed the many adjustments to the curricula they work with. After all, curricula provide the framework of teaching with regard to:
Educational and functional aims
Orientation for planning, implementing, and reflecting on teaching and learning
The definition of progression toward certain levels of competences
The framework for the design of materials and tests
The basis of comparable performances of classes and schools within a state (cf. Hallet & Königs 2010: 54–58)
Criticism of the CEFAcademics have hotly debated the aims and standards of the CEF for some time (cf. Bausch et al. 2003, Zydatiß 2005, Bredella 2006, Harsch 2006, Timm 2006, Klieme 2007, Quetz & Vogt 2009, Decke-Cornill & Küster 2010, Bach & [13]Breidbach 2013). In general, they appreciate the basic function of the CEF as a guideline for developing comparable curricula and exams across Europe, and the focus on the positive ‘can do’-statements of achievement rather than on learners’ deficits. However, they also find fault with particular standards, competences, and descriptors for the following reasons:
The Bildungsstandards ignore Bildung in the sense of personal growth, orientation, and reflection (see ch. 8.1.2).
The narrow focus on functional communicative competences and testing is detrimental to intercultural and methodological goals.
Competence comes with little content as if content was less relevant.
The descriptors and scales of language proficiency are not always clear and distinct.
Average standards (Regelstandards) should be changed to minimum standards (Mindeststandards, for weaker learners) and maximum standards (Maximalstandards, encouraging best performance).
Standardization jars with individualization and differentiation.
Output orientation neglects standards of good teaching and the insight into processes of language acquisition and learning.
Output standards encourage teaching to the test (backwash).
Compare the overview of competences postulated in the CEF and the KMK competence framework outlined above (see figs. 1.5 and 1.6). List the major similarities and differences of the two and discuss the significance of what the KMK left out.
Download the curriculum for the level and type of school you want to teach at. Which goals, contents, and methods does the curriculum propose? How interesting do you find the content and the tasks? How can they contribute to developing communicative skills and intercultural competence? To what extent do the tasks contribute to general education, the development of learner strategies, and methodical competences addressed in the German educational standards?
The KMK briefly defined standards of teacher education in Educational Studies (Erziehungs- und Bildungswissenschaften) and Psychology (2004, 2012a), and in modern foreign languages at secondary schools (2008: 36–37). In cooperation with other academic associations, the Deutsche Anglistenverband and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Amerikastudien (2012) specified the competences – and above all, the content – of English and American studies and TEFL in [14]greater detail. The KMK (2008/2014, 2012b) agreed on two basic stages of teacher education (see fig. 1.7):
StagesStage 1: studying at least two major subjects and Educational Studies at university or at a college of education (Pädagogische Hochschule). The first stage concludes with the B. A., M. A., and/or the First State Examination, which consists of a final thesis as well as written and oral examinations in the major subjects studied, TEFL, and Educational Studies.
Stage 2: practical training (Referendariat) at teacher seminars (Studienseminare) and assigned schools (Ausbildungsschulen). The practical training aims at interlinking competences in English Studies, in TEFL, and in Educational Studies (cf. KMK 2008/2014: 3–6, 36–37), ending with the Second State Examination.
Teacher education in Germany
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Forms of instruction |
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Content & competences |
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In spite of the similar requirements, the education of language teachers within these two stages varies considerably across the German federal states with regard to the subjects of academic education and the link to practical teacher training. The academic education of teachers at primary schools may be separated from that of teachers at secondary schools. For example, Baden-Wuerttemberg offers programs for teaching English at primary schools and secondary schools at a college of education. Students of teaching English at the Gymnasium enroll at a university with more study time allotted to Cultural, Literary, and Linguistic Studies than to TEFL and Educational Studies compared to colleges of education. The federal states also offer a third stage of in-service teacher training (Lehrerfortbildungen), but it is less systematically structured and implemented than the first two stages.
Bridging the gap[15]The gap between English and American Studies as an academic subject and its teaching at school has generated a long debate. Recently, centers of teacher education (Zentren für Lehrerbildung) have been founded, in which academic scholars, teacher trainers, and administrators work on bridging the gap between university and school. Most federal states require university students to attend stints of practical training at schools, often supervised by experts from both the school and university (cf. Volkmann 2012: 474–75). It is true that academic subject knowledge – apart from TEFL – goes beyond what is needed at school. However, generating knowledge is a genuine function of a university, and it is often only a matter of time until academic content and methods filter into primary and secondary education: for example, linguistic research in language acquisition has influenced the methods and implementation of early EFL teaching. The focus on race/ethnicity, class, and gender in Cultural Studies has had a lasting impact on textbooks, such as the representation of women and minorities. The expansion of literary studies led to opening the canon to works from Africa and India, comics, and film adaptations. In turn, teachers’ reflected practice is a valuable form of theorizing that has fed back into TEFL as an academic subject.
Obtain information on the particular requirements in TEFL at your university or your school and the links to studying English as a subject.
As Zydatiß (2005: 312–20, 363–67) argues, educational standards and curricula are not sufficient in order to improve the quality of FL education. Among others, the following factors play a crucial role (see ch. 2):
Crucial factorsThe quantitative conditions of the educational system (e.g., financing, staffing, and resources)
The quality of schools (e.g., their management and focus)
The quality of teaching in the classroom (e.g., the interaction between teachers and learners, the methods, and the use of media)
It remains to be seen whether the European Profile for Language Teacher Education (Kelly et al. 2004) and the European Profiling Grid for Assessing Language Teacher Competences will in the future be an instrument used by the German federal states to support the professional development of their teaching staff. The Profile sets up standards of education, training, and qualifications of teachers with regard to communicative, intercultural, media, methodological, and administrative competences.
The research and effort that go into institutionalized language teaching has not escaped criticism. The educational and functional objectives of institutionalized language teaching aim at competences that work in real-life interaction, but it is difficult to implement activities that help to achieve these competences. For example, the gradual progression along language structures in textbooks is [16]in conflict with demands for authentic language use, especially for beginners and intermediate learners. The simulation of real-life situations may founder on the rocks of missing vocabulary or pragmatic skills in the average classroom. The simulation of intercultural dialogs in English among speakers of German may be awkward and demotivating if one cannot express what one could easily do in the mother tongue. In a real-life situation where the FL is the only means of communication, language input may exceed one’s level of skills, and one needs to solve problems of communication under time pressure in addition to fulfilling the task at hand. Media and the contact with native speakers help to integrate authentic discourse in the classroom. Ideally, the immersion into the FL during an extended stay in an English-speaking country should complement both the academic training of pre-service teachers and language learning at school – a demand Comenius introduced hundreds of years ago.
Council of Europe (2001). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Gnutzmann, Claus & Frauke Intemann, eds. (2008). The Globalisation of English and the English Language Classroom. 2nd ed. Tuebingen: Francke.
Kultusministerkonferenz (2003). Bildungsstandards für die erste Fremdsprache (Englisch/Französisch) für den Mittleren Abschluss. http://www.iqb.hu-berlin.de/bista/subject (15 July 2014).
Schneider, Edgar W. (2011). English Around the World: An Introduction. Cambridge et al.: Cambridge University Press.
Timm, Johannes-P., ed. (2006). Fremdsprachenlernen und Fremdsprachenforschung: Kompetenzen, Standards, Lernformen, Evaluation. Tuebingen: Narr.
Zydatiß, Wolfgang (2005). Bildungsstandards und Kompetenzniveaus im Englischunterricht: Konzepte, Empirie, Kritik und Konsequenzen. Frankfurt a.M. et al.: Lang.
What makes a good teacher?
What makes a good EFL teacher?
Education in the 21st century
Recommended reading
AbstractThis chapter provides a structured, yet complex answer to the question of what it means to be a good teacher. It will first discuss the general prerequisites for good teaching practice based on the reflective practice model of professional development. This chapter will then address the question of what is required to be(come) a professional teacher of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). It closes with a focus on the paradigm shift in 21stFL