English Language Teaching in its Social Context
English Language Teaching in its Social Context
English Language Teaching in its Social Context
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172 JACK C. RICHARDS<strong>in</strong>formation, and construct new concepts” (p. 4). Furthermore, to be functionally proficient<strong>in</strong> the classroom, the student must be able to utili7e these compctences to perform threemajor functions: (a) to decode and understand both task expectations and new <strong>in</strong>formation;(b) to engage appropriately <strong>in</strong> complet<strong>in</strong>g tasks, with high accuracy; and (c) to obta<strong>in</strong>accurate feedback with relation to complet<strong>in</strong>g tasks accurately (p. 5).In his Significant Bil<strong>in</strong>gual Instructional Features (SBIF) descriptive study, Tikunoff(1 983) collected data to f<strong>in</strong>d out how effective teachers <strong>in</strong> bil<strong>in</strong>gual education programsorganize <strong>in</strong>struction, structure teach<strong>in</strong>g activities, and enhance student performance ontasks. Teachers were <strong>in</strong>terviewed to determ<strong>in</strong>e their <strong>in</strong>structional philosophies, goals, andthe demands they would structure <strong>in</strong>to class tasks. Teachers were clearly able to specify classtask demands and <strong>in</strong>tended outcomes and to <strong>in</strong>dicate what LEP students had to do to befunctionally proficient. Case studies of teachers were undertaken <strong>in</strong> which teachers wereobserved dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>struction, with three observers collect<strong>in</strong>g data for the teacher and forfour target LEP students. Teachers were <strong>in</strong>terviewed aga<strong>in</strong> after <strong>in</strong>struction.An analysis of data across the case studies revealed a clear l<strong>in</strong>kage between (1) teachers’ability to clearly specify the <strong>in</strong>tent of <strong>in</strong>struction, and a belief that students couldachieve accuracy <strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>structional tasks, (2) the organization and delivery of <strong>in</strong>structionsuch that tasks and <strong>in</strong>stitutional demands reflected this <strong>in</strong>tent, requir<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>tendedstudent responses, and (3) the fidelity of student eonsequences with <strong>in</strong>tendedoutcomes. In other words, teachers were able to describe clearly what <strong>in</strong>structionwould entail, to operationalize these specifications, and to produce the desired results<strong>in</strong> terms of student performance. (p. 9)This approach to teach<strong>in</strong>g is one <strong>in</strong> which methodological pr<strong>in</strong>ciples are developed fromstudy<strong>in</strong>g the classroom practices and processes actually cmployed by effective teachers.Good teach<strong>in</strong>g is not viewed as someth<strong>in</strong>g that results from us<strong>in</strong>g Method X or MethodY,or someth<strong>in</strong>g that results from the teacher modify<strong>in</strong>g teach<strong>in</strong>g behaviors to match someexternal sct of rules and pr<strong>in</strong>ciples. Rather, it results from the teacher’s active control andmanagement of the processes of teach<strong>in</strong>g, learn<strong>in</strong>g, and communication with<strong>in</strong> the classroomand from an understand<strong>in</strong>g of these processes.The classroom is seen as a place where thereis ongo<strong>in</strong>g and dynamic <strong>in</strong>teraction between the teacher’s <strong>in</strong>structional goals, learners’purposes, classroom tasks and activities, the teacher’s <strong>in</strong>structional activities and behaviors,student behaviors <strong>in</strong> complet<strong>in</strong>g assigned tasks, and learn<strong>in</strong>g outcomes.In the bil<strong>in</strong>gual classrooms observed <strong>in</strong> Tikunoff’s study, effective teach<strong>in</strong>g was foundto reflect the degree to which the teacher is able to successfully communicate his or her<strong>in</strong>tentions, ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> students’ engagement <strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>structional tasks, and monitor students’performance on tasks. In classrooms where different <strong>in</strong>structional goals are present anddifferent aspects of second language proficiency arc be<strong>in</strong>g addressed, the characteristics ofeffective teach<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> those sett<strong>in</strong>gs cannot be <strong>in</strong>ferred merely from read<strong>in</strong>g about thetheoretical pr<strong>in</strong>ciples underly<strong>in</strong>g the method or approach the teacher is supposed to befollow<strong>in</strong>g. Rather, classroom observation of teachers who arc achiev<strong>in</strong>g higher-thanpredictedlevels of achievement <strong>in</strong> their learners, or who are assessed as perform<strong>in</strong>g at highlevels of effectiveness accord<strong>in</strong>g to other criteria, provides the data from which profiles ofeffective teachers <strong>in</strong> listen<strong>in</strong>g, read<strong>in</strong>g, writ<strong>in</strong>g, speak<strong>in</strong>g, and other k<strong>in</strong>ds of classes can bedeveloped.