Exploring English Language Teaching: Language in Action (Routledge Introductions to Applied Linguistics)

297 Pages·2011·2.77 MB·English

by  Graham Hall

1111 Exploring English
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2 Routledge Introductions to Applied Linguistics is a series of intro-
3111 ductory level textbooks covering the core topics in Applied Linguistics,
4 primarily designed for those entering postgraduate studies and
5 language professionals returning to academic study. The books take
6 an innovative “practice to theory” approach, with a ‘back-to-front’
7 structure. This leads the reader from real-world problems and issues,
8 through a discussion of intervention and how to engage with these
9 concerns, before finally relating these practical issues to theoretical
20111 foundations. Additional features include tasks with commentaries,
1 a glossary of key terms, and an annotated further reading section.
2 Exploring English Language Teaching provides a single volume
3 introduction to the field of ELT from an applied linguistics perspective.
4 The book addresses four central themes within English language teach-
5 ing: ‘Classroom interaction and management’; ‘Method, Postmethod
6 and methodology’; ‘Learners’; and the ‘Institutional frameworks and
7 social contexts’ of ELT. For each, the book identifies key dilemmas
8 and practices, examines how teachers and other language teaching pro-
9 fessionals might intervene and deal with these concerns, and explores

30111 how such issues link to and inform applied linguistic theory.
1 Exploring English Language Teaching is an indispensable textbook
2 for language teachers, and for post-graduate/graduate students and
3 advanced undergraduates studying in the areas of Applied Linguistics,
4 Language Teacher Education, and ELT/TESOL.
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6 Graham Hallis Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics at Northumbria
7 University, UK.
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Routledge Introductions to Applied Linguistics
Series editors:
Ronald Carter, Professor of Modern English Language
University of Nottingham, UK
Guy Cook, Professor of Language and Education
Open University, UK
Routledge Introductions to Applied Linguistics is a series of intro-
ductory level textbooks covering the core topics in Applied Linguistics,
primarily designed for those entering postgraduate studies and
language professionals returning to academic study. The books take
an innovative ‘practice to theory’ approach, with a ‘back-to-front’
structure. This leads the reader from real-world problems and issues,
through a discussion of intervention and how to engage with these
concerns, before finally relating these practical issues to theoretical
foundations. Additional features include tasks with commentaries, a
glossary of key terms and an annotated further reading section.
Exploring English Language Teaching
Language in Action
Graham Hall
Exploring Classroom Discourse
Language in Action
Steve Walsh

‘The innovative approach devised by the series editors will make
this series very attractive to students, teacher educators, and even
to a general readership, wanting to explore and understand the field
of applied linguistics. The volumes in this series take as their starting
point the everyday professional problems and issues that applied
linguists seek to illuminate. The volumes are authoritatively written,
using an engaging “back-to-front” structure that moves from prac-
tical interests to the conceptual bases and theories that underpin
applications of practice.’
Anne Burns, Aston University, UK
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Exploring
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English
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Language
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1 Teaching
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5 Language in Action
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First published 2011
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2011.
To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.
© 2011 Graham Hall
The right of Graham Hall to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78
of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying
and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Catalog uing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Hall, Graham, 1969–.
Exploring English language teaching: language in action/
Graham Hall. –1st ed.
p. cm. –(Routledge Introductions to applied linguistics)
1. English language –Study and teaching –Foreign speakers.
2. English teachers –Training of. I. Title.
PE1128.A2H285 2011
428.2(cid:2)4 –dc22 2010041935
ISBN 0-203-82784-8 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 13: 978–0–415–58413–5 (hbk)
ISBN 13: 978–0–415–58415–9 (pbk)
ISBN 13: 978–0–203–82784–0 (ebk)
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1111 Contents
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2 Acknowledgements ix
3111 Permissions x
4 Series editors’ introduction xi
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PART I
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Classroom interaction and management 1
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1. The language classroom: roles, relationships and
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interactions 3
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2. Intervening in the language classroom: classroom
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management, interaction and learning opportunities 20
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3. The language classroom in theory and practice:
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complex, diverse and ‘local’ 38
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PART II

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Method, Postmethod and methodology 57
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4. Language, language learning and Method: dilemmas
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and practices 59
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5. Language teaching methods: perspectives and
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possibilities 76
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6. Theoretical insights for a Postmethod era 103
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2 Learners 121
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viii Contents
8. Learner diversity and development: considerations for
the language classroom . . . and beyond 143
9. Images of language learners: from individual to social,
and universal to specific 161
PART IV
Institutional frameworks and social contexts 179
10. From global trends to local contexts: language dilemmas
in the ELT classroom 181
11. Planning and organizing L2 learning and teaching:
contexts and curriculum, possibilities and realities 198
12. ELT in the world: education and politics, contexts
and goals 217
Commentary on selected tasks 235
Glossary 242
Further reading 253
References 257
Index 276
1111 Acknowledgements
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2 Many people have contributed to this book, directly and indirectly.
3111 First, many thanks to the series editors, Guy Cook and Ronald Carter,
4 who gave me the opportunity and the confidence to write the book,
5 and who provided generous encouragement and insightful advice
6 throughout. Their expertise and attention to detail were invaluable
7 in developing my thinking and refining the manuscript. Thanks
8 also to Louisa Semlyen and Sophie Jaques at Routledge for their help
9 and guidance in bringing the book together, and to the anonymous
20111 reviewers whose commentaries at various stages were extremely useful.
1 I have worked as an English language teacher and, more recently,
2 as a teacher educator for twenty years, and the influence of past and
3 present students and colleagues on my thinking and practice has been
4 enormous. Among the many people whose ideas I have drawn upon
5 in this book and in my professional life more generally, the teaching
6 and research of Dick Allwright have particularly shaped my ideas about
7 ELT. All errors, misrepresentations and omissions in the text are,
8 however, my responsibility.
9 I cannot name everyone who has shown an interest in the progress

30111 this book as I have written it. Suffice to say that, without the encour-
1 agement of family and friends, the task would have been more difficult.
2 Special mention is due, however, to Andrew Hall and Adam Hansen
3 whose consistent and enthusiastic enquiries helped me stay on track.
4 I would also like to thank my parents for their love and support as I
35 have explored ELT over the years.
6 Finally, thanks to Helen, not only for her unfailing support through-
7 out this project and for covering my absences from family life without
8 (much) complaint, but also for reading and discussing the manuscript,
9 and prompting me to clarify my ideas. This book is dedicated to her
40111 and to our girls, Georgia and Rosa, who surprise and inspire me every
1 day.
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