techniques employed in modern foreign language ...

TECHNIQUES EMPLOYED IN MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING BY GRACE CHIBIKO OF:FORMA INTRODUCTION The elevation oj French frail I an elective to a core course at both primary and secondary schools ill Nigeria since 1998 has called jor the curriculum change. The revised curriculum advocates the thematic approach whereby the contents are divided into themes to be covered during the six years of secondary education. The themes arranged in a sequence are built around the: home/family, the school, the community, the entire Nigerian societv, communication, world of work and science and technology. The goal is to expose the pupils to the language skills. In England, at Key stage 3 and 4 according to the Department of Education and Employment; and Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (DjEEIQCA, 1999:8) MFL aims at providing pupils with these skills: Communication. through developing their awareness of the way language is structured and how it can be manipulated to meet a range of needs, and through reinforcing learning in specific areas such as listening. reading for gist and detail, and using grammar correctly Application of number, through talking and writing about the time and measures in the target language TL J. and carrying out conversations about distances and currency IT. through using audio. video, satellite television and the internet to access and communicate information. and through selecting and using a range of ICT resources to create presentations for different audiences and purposes "'orking with others, through developing their ability to participate in group conversations and discussions Improving own learning and performance, through developing their ability to rehearse and redraft \\ ork to improve accuracy and presentation. and through developing learning strategies such as memori- ing. dealing with the unpredictable, and using reference materials Problem solving. through developing their ability to apply and adapt their knowledge of the TL for specific communication purposes. I

The British and Nigerian governments have realised the importance of MFL in the school curriculum and so they have formulated policies that upgrade MFL as a foundation subject in the schools. Brumfit (1995:1-L~;' noted that "the National Curriculum has partly recognised that the MFL classroom could be as boring and dernotivating as any grammar-translation lesson and so, it has extended the content to include creativity, imagination. the environment, the world of work, communication and technology. Trafford (1999) noted that French has been in decline since its peak in 1992, and that the problem should be sought in the techniques used by the teachers. According to Trim (1998:210). the education and training of teachers has a number of different aspects including at least: achieving a high level of linguistic proficiency, knowledge and understanding of the country (or countries) concerned and its culture(s). understanding of the process of language learning and teaching methodology, as well as skills in the management of learning and its assessment and a mastery of teaching techniques. Pachler, Norman and Field' j 999) observed thar the introduction of the compulsory study of MFL at 14-16 years, together with the embracing of a new methodology based on a variant of communicative language teaching (CLT) has profound implications for MFL teaching and learning in secondary schools, such as moving away from grammar-translation towards conununicative skills, teaching and testing in the TL. MFL teachers must be well equipped to implement these skills effectively. In Nigeria, French has since 1998 been given a higher status as a core subject at both primary and secondary schools. Therefore to promote French teaching and learning, there is need for more teachers of French, a change in methods and techniques of teaching, provision of adequate instructional materials, among other things. The main message for the new millennium for modern language teaching and learning is that theory and practice can now be conceptually linked in a way which enjoins knowledge of language

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with knowledge about language; and that learning strategies represent one way of getting learners to work on their language by encouraging them to think more about what it is to learn a language and hence to know it. The teacher of French needs to understand the different techniques to be able to make decisions on which to apply in his teaching depending on the learners, the content and the stated objectives. Language is complex, so is its teaching, especially when the learner has to acquire new phonemes, vocabulary, orthography and structures, which are different from the learner's source language (Offorma, 2003). The problem of this study therefore was to survey the current techniques of MFL teaching in a more developed environment, which could be applied to enhance French teaching and learning in Nigeria. To guide this study one research question was posed: what are the techniques employed by the MFL teachers?

Method The research design used in this study was a survey design, which entails collecting data from a target population to find out the state of the art of the research problem. The area focused in this study was South Wales, which covers some universities and cosmopolitan cities. The indigenous language is Welsh but generally, English is the medium of communication. French, German and Spanish are the major MFL taught in the secondary schools. The population of the study was made up of all the MFL teachers at the secondary schools in South Wales, which were in partnership with the Department of Education, Hendrefoelan, University of Wales Swansea. In 2000/2001 academic year, there were 21 such schools. The teachers were all qualified, as teachers in the UK are required to obtain MFL PGCE (post Graduate Certificate in Education) to qualify to teach MFL in the schools. There was no sampling of the teachers as their population was manageable. Therefore all the members of the population became the research subjects (55). Though French is the only MFL taught in secondary schools in Nigeria, the researcher decided to use all the MFL teachers as the languages share common methods, techniques, resources and evaluation procedures. In all, 55 teachers who returned the completed questionnaire were used. For data collection, a structured questionnaire made up of techniques was constructed on a 4-point scale. Three MFL Curriculum specialists in the Department of Education, Hendrefoelan, University of Wales Swansea validated the instruments. They noted that the original questionnaire contained too many items, which they advised should be removed, as they did not look user friendly. Their comments were taken into consideration in the final production of the instruments. The questionnaire was constructed in such a way that the internal consistency was checked. For example a respondent who indicated that he/she used pair work as a large class management technique could not indicate that he /she did not use pair work! dialogue technique. This shows inconsistency and that item should be jettisoned. Furthermore some French classes were observed to ascertain the consistency of the teachers' responses to the questionnaire items and their actual classroom practice. The instruments were personally administered and collected hy the researcher. The questionnaire was posted to some of the schools with an attached letter to explain the purpose of the research. Out of 105 copies administered, 55 (52%) were returned. French lessons were observed to identify the techniques used by the teachers, which served as a check on the teachers' responses to the questionnaire.

hted and Mean

?~ores

showinz MFL Teachers' Use of Techniqlles..

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Discussion The above Table presents the Cumulated Weighted Scores (CWS) of the teachers' responses to the techniques they applied in MFL teaching. The Data show that the teachers used all the techniques but few of them used songs and projects as shown by the mean scores of2.1 and 1.2 respectively. The teachers applied these techniques: emphasizing the four language skills. teaching in the Target Language (TL). using illustration to teach grammar. correcting errors always. setting targets for the learners. using drills and repetitions, using role-play/games, using small groups for class activities. using pair work/dialogue. using dictionaries, giving homework. monitoring learners' progress and giving information to the pupils about their progress. Few of the teachers were not using songs and projects. Emphasizing the four language skills. teaching in the TL. using Illustration to teach grammar, error correction, target setting for the learners. use of drills/ repetitions. role-play/games' small group activities, pair work/dialogue. dictionaries, giving homework. monitoring learners' progress and giving information to the pupils about their progress were the techniques used by the teachers. These techniques are shared by the Communicative and Leamer Autonomy approaches. Larsen-Freeman (1986: xii) 'agrees that if two methods share certain principles, then the techniques that are the application of the principles could well be appropriate for hoth methods.' The teacher's aims in using communicative techniques are to encourage use of the TL, correcting errors as deemed necessary, stressing the skills of oracy and literacy. Drills and repetitions are also used to help the learners imbibe the phonology and structure of the language. Use of games/ role-plays. dialogues and pair work are all means of letting the learners practise the language. Practice is a crucial factor in any skill acquisition activities.

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Learner Autonomy, whose techniques the teachers applied is being prescribed today as an approach that is learner-centred. Chambers (1999) sees it as an approach born out of an effort to meet the diverse needs of the range of pupils within a class, including the disaffected. Grenfell (2000) and Little (2000) observed that this approach became popular because for the past decade curriculum reforms in a number of European countries have highlighted the importance of developing learner capacity for independent thought and critical reflection, of helping them to learn how to learn. Learner Autonomy makes good use of dictionaries, group acti vities, homework, and target setting. The teachers act as a zuide. monitor, and provide feedback to the learners. Dictionaries are used a great deal in this approach, According to Asher (1999), dictionaries contribute to pupils' acquisition of learning strategies and the widening of their opportunities for understanding and using a foreign language. The National Curriculum and the revised GCSE support the use of dictionaries in MFL classroom and examination. Though the policy on dictionary use in examinations has changed again the teachers should teach the pupils the dictionary skills, as it will help them in learning how to learn. It should be noted that the mean score for the response on the use of songs and projects is below the cut-off mean of 2.5, which means that not many teachers were using them and these are important for motivating learners. Their use also makes learning fun and the classroom environment relaxing. Boiron (1999: 26) wrote this about the value of songs: 'pourtant la chanson introduit fondamentalement un univers non linguistique dans la classe. Chaque eleve peut I' aborder et I' apprecier independamrnent de son niveau linguistique.' He believes that a good teacher should be a good generalist, capable of using diverse supports in the classroom. It is important that these two techniques be used.

Conclusion and Recommendations The finding that the teachers were using some techniques other than songs and projects implies that MFL classes lack fun, which is provided by the use of songs and projects. That few teachers were using IT resources means that the communicative approach and Learner Autonomy may not be effectively used in teaching as they are applied in these methods. It may also affect learner motivation and achievement. MFL teacher trainers should provide to the trainees adequate training and practice in the appropriate teaching techniques, to make them confident and competent. This will also help in the attainment of the French curricular goals. REFERENCES

Asher Colin (1999) Using dictionaries in the GCSE examination of MFL: teachers' views and learners'

performance. Studies in Modem Languages Education. 7, 59-67. Boiron Michel (1999) Approches pedagogiques de la chanson contemporaine. Fracophonie 19, 25-28 Brumfit, C.J.(ed) (1995) Language education in the National Curriculum. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. Chambers Gary (1999) Using dictionaries in the GCSE examination of modern foreign languages- pupils' perception. Studies in Modern Languages Education. 7, 68- 83. Department of Education, Employment, Qualification and Curriculum Authority (1999) The National Curriculum/or England, Modem Foreign Languages: Key Stages 3-4. London: Department of Education and Employment. Federal Republic of Nigeria (1998) National Policy on Education. Lagos: NERDC Press. Grenfell Michael (2000) Learning and teaching strategies. In Green Simon (ed) New Perspectives on teaching and learning modern languages. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters ltd. Larsen-Freeman Diane (1986) Techniques and principles in language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Little Davitt (2000) Learner autonomy: why foreign languages should occupy a Central role in curriculum. In Green Simon (ed) New perspectives on teaching and learning modern languages. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters ltd. Offorrna, G.c. (2003) Overview of modern foreign language (mfl) methods and techniques. International Journal 0/ Arts and Technology Education. ;? (1 ),217 - 234. Pachler, N; Norman N; & Field. K. (1999) A "new" approach to language study. Studies in Modem Languages Education:'], 1-33. Trafford John (1999) Language teachers in a time of change. Studies in Modem Languages Education i; 42-58.

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