Teaching English in the 21st Century (9788245034332) by Fagbokforlaget

PREVIEW

TORILL IRENE HESTETRÆET is Assistant Professor of English Language and Didactics at the University of Stavanger, where she teaches and supervises pre-service language teachers. Her research areas include vocabulary acquisition and teacher cognition. She also worked for many years as an English teacher in upper secondary school.

The book opens with a historical overview of English teaching in Norway. Each chapter is devoted to a specific area of the subject and discusses the topic in a historical context, before exploring various theoretical concepts and relevant research. The topics are also discussed in relation to previous and current Norwegian curricula. Special focus is given to discussing practical classroom work as well as theoretical and practical challenges related to the topic of each chapter.

DAVID NEWBY was formerly Associate Professor of Foreign Language Didactics and Applied Linguistics at Graz University, Austria, and Adjunct Professor of Didactics at the University of Bergen. He has worked extensively for the Council of Europe and has held lectures and workshops in 40 countries. His main areas of research are pedagogical grammar and second-language acquisition research. In addition to his academic publications he is the author of school textbooks, plays and short stories.

This second edition of Teaching English in the 21st Century: Central Issues in English Didactics has been revised and updated to take into account the changes in the Knowledge Promotion of 2020 and recent research. The book brings together historical, theoretical and practical aspects of the subject. As such, the book is an invaluable tool for teachers, student teachers, researchers and others engaged in the continuously developing field of English didactics. All chapters in this book have been peer reviewed.

SIGRID ØREVIK is Associate Professor of English Didactics at the University of Bergen, where she is involved in teaching and supervision of student teachers at graduate and postgraduate levels. Ørevik also has extensive experience as a teacher of English in upper secondary school. Her research focuses primarily on genre patterns in materials for learning, teaching and assessment, and the use of multimodal texts in the teaching and learning of English.

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HILD ELISABETH HOFF is Associate Professor of English Didactics at the University of Bergen, where she teaches and supervises student teachers of English. Hoff’s research focuses on the intercultural dimension of language teaching and learning, and her work on intercultural competence and literature studies has been published internationally.

English didactics is a multi-faceted area of research, which concerns student teachers at every level of teacher education, teachers in school and researchers. We all have a shared interest and common goal: to explore and promote insight into both theoretical and practical aspects of English teaching and learning.

ANNE-BRIT FENNER AND

The main aim of this book is to define and discuss concepts and competences related to the teaching and learning of English in the 21st century.

AUD SOLBJØRG SKULSTAD (EDS.)

ANGELA HASSELGREEN is currently employed part-time as professor in the Research Group for Language Testing and Assessment, Department of Foreign Languages, at the University of Bergen. She has worked for many years in the field of language assessment and didactics, as teacher, teacher educator, test developer and researcher. She has coordinated international and national research projects and has published widely on the assessment of young learners.

ANNE-BRIT FENNER is retired Associate Professor of English Didactics in the Department of Foreign Languages at the University of Bergen, where her field of research has focused on intercultural competence, the teaching of literature and learner autonomy. She has published a number of international articles and has coordinated several Council of Europe projects. Based on many years of teaching experience, she has written English textbooks and has been involved in developing national curricula.

TEACHING ENGLISH IN THE 21 ST CENTURY CENTRAL ISSUES IN ENGLISH DIDACTICS 2 ND EDITION

ISBN 978-82-450-3433-2

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ANNE-BRIT FENNER AND AUD SOLBJØRG SKULSTAD (EDS.)

AUD SOLBJØRG SKULSTAD (Dr. art.) is Professor of English Didactics in the Department of Foreign Languages at the University of Bergen. She has been engaged in pre-service education of teachers of English since 1996 and she teaches at graduate and postgraduate levels. Skulstad supervises MA students and PhD candidates within English didactics, and she has also been the supervisor of a prize-winning PhD project within Spanish didactics. Her main research interests include the teaching and learning of text construction, the development of genre awareness, multimodality, English for specific purposes, genre analysis and analyses of text-based English language learning, particularly learning materials and learner texts.

TEACHING ENGLISH IN THE 21 ST CENTURY CENTRAL ISSUES IN ENGLISH DIDACTICS 2 ND EDITION

ANNE-BRIT FENNER AND AUD SOLBJØRG SKULSTAD (EDS.)

Copyright © 2020 by Vigmostad & Bjørke AS All Rights Reserved ISBN: 978-82-450-3433-2 1st Edition 2018 2nd Edition 2020 Graphic production: John Grieg, Bergen Cover design by publisher Design by publisher, typeset by Bøk Oslo AS All chapters have been peer reviewed. Enquiries about this text can be directed to: Fagbokforlaget Kanalveien 51 5068 Bergen Tel.: 55 38 88 00 Fax: 55 38 88 01 email: fagbokforlaget@fagbokforlaget.no www.fagbokforlaget.no All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photo-copying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ............................................................................ 7 Anne-Brit Fenner and Aud Solbjørg Skulstad

BASIC CONCEPTS Chapter 1 THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH AS A SCHOOL SUBJECT ............................................................. 17 Anne-Brit Fenner

Chapter 2 COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE ............................................... 43 Aud Solbjørg Skulstad

Chapter 3 INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE ................................................ 69 Hild Elisabeth Hoff

SKILLS AND COMPETENCES Chapter 4 DEVELOPING ORAL SKILLS ........................................................ 95 Aud Solbjørg Skulstad

Chapter 5 TEACHING WRITING ................................................................ 117 Aud Solbjørg Skulstad

Chapter 6 READING AND LITERACY ......................................................... 141 Sigrid Ørevik

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Chapter 7 DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY IN THE ENGLISH CLASSROOM ........... 165 Sigrid Ørevik

Chapter 8 LEARNING AND TEACHING VOCABULARY .............................. 185 Torill Irene Hestetræet

Chapter 9 TEACHING GRAMMAR .............................................................. 213 David Newby

Chapter 10 APPROACHES TO LITERATURE ................................................ 239 Anne-Brit Fenner

Chapter 11 MULTIMODALITY ...................................................................... 261 Aud Solbjørg Skulstad

OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES Chapter 12 LEARNER AUTONOMY AND LEARNING STRATEGIES .............. 287 Anne-Brit Fenner

Chapter 13 ENGLISH IN VOCATIONAL STUDIES ........................................ 311 Torill Irene Hestetræet and Sigrid Ørevik

Chapter 14 ANALYSIS OF LEARNING MATERIALS ...................................... 337 Anne-Brit Fenner and Sigrid Ørevik

Chapter 15 ASSESSMENT AND TESTING .................................................... 365 Angela Hasselgreen and Sigrid Ørevik

INTRODUCTION Anne-Brit Fenner and Aud SolbjĂ¸rg Skulstad

English didactics is a field of research which operates at the intersection between theory and practice. The subject concerns student teachers and teachers in school as much as researchers. We all have a shared interest and common goal: to improve English teaching in the classroom. This can best be done by developing the subject at both theoretical and practical levels. For a long time we have felt the need for a comprehensive book on English didactics which covers the various courses and levels of teacher education in a Norwegian context. Until now, we have relied mainly on internationally published articles relevant to the aims of our courses, but these rarely touch upon the Norwegian context and are, in addition, often too narrow in scope. The result is that our students have had to cope with far too many individual articles from different books and journals. As we want students of English didactics to read the learning material in English, we have also struggled to assimilate two different educational traditions: a Germanic tradition of Bildung on the one hand, and a more Anglo-American tradition of teaching methodology on the other. This book is our effort to combine the two traditions related to English teaching in Norway. It consists of chapters covering several aspects of the multifaceted subject of English didactics. An important principle for the authors has been that all the chapters should be based on research

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in the relevant academic field and, at the same time, include practical aspects of the topic in question. With the exception of the first chapter, which gives a historical overview of the development of the English subject in Norway, each chapter is divided into the following sections: introduction, historical overview, theoretical perspectives, curricular issues, practical aspects, challenges (both theoretical and practical) and conclusion. In order to understand the relevance and development of the various aspects of English didactics, it is necessary to present them in their historical context, both nationally and internationally. As far as the theoretical perspectives of the topic in question are concerned, students need to be familiar with both past and ongoing academic discussions, especially related to their own research at the higher levels of their didactic courses. In addition, each chapter should give the students ample opportunity to follow up various theories through a large number of references as a basis for further study. In the section on curricular issues, the authors have discussed each topic in relation to the Knowledge Promotion curriculum of 2020 (LK20). Where relevant, they have also viewed the topics from the perspective of previous curricula. For students of English didactics, teaching practice is an important part of their courses. Didactic theories have practical consequences, and each chapter discusses such consequences for both teaching and learning. The section on challenges deals with both theoretical challenges in the academic debate and practical challenges in the classroom related to a specific didactic aspect. WHAT CHARACTERISES THE FIELD OF ENGLISH DIDACTICS? Subject-specific didactics is a fairly recent research area with independent research only from the 1970s onwards. The term is a translation of the German word Fachdidaktik and implies the art of teaching. It differs from general didactics in that it places importance on individual subjects being taught and learnt in specific ways. It also differs from the term didactics in English, which in general usage still has connotations of moral instruction and often implies one-way teaching. Theoretically,

Introduction

didactics entails two levels: a theoretical research level and a practical level, both of which are discussed in this book. Subject didactics can be defined as “a bridge between the subject and pedagogy” (Sjøberg, 2001, pp. 11–12, our translation) and consists of “considerations related to the situation of a subject in school and education” (Sjøberg, 2001, p. 14, our translation). Aase (Aase, Lorentzen, Streitlien & Tarrou, 1998, p. 7, our translation) defines subject-specific didactics as comprising all the reflections which can be related to a subject and the teaching of this subject, and which can enhance the knowledge of the nature and the rationale of the subject, and lead to increased knowledge of how the subject can be learnt, taught and developed.

In English didactics this can be summed up in three main questions: why should English be taught, what is to be taught and learnt and, finally, how can the subject be taught and learnt? Teaching English in the 21st Century: Central Issues in English Didactics aims to discuss answers to all three questions, which in many ways are interlinked. Why teach English constitutes the rationale of the subject, which includes questions about who the learners of the language are, for what purposes it is learnt, how the subject is related to the overall aims of education, the aims of the subject itself and aims for the learners. What should be learnt encompasses several aspects of English, such as literature, grammar, pronunciation and a number of skills, and which learning material is best suited in order to reach the aims of the subject at any given time. How to teach English concerns a number of teaching methods and approaches, and how to organise good learning situations in the classroom. How is also related to the aims of the subject as well as to what to teach and learn. In other words, how to teach is what in didactical terms is called methodology. All three questions – why, what and how – have to be seen in relation to both the historical and the socio-cultural context, nationally as well as internationally. In the 21st century, the question why has acquired a more central role (Hokstad, 2002). This has to do with the fact that the use of new

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technologies has changed some central aspects of teaching and learning, the way we communicate, and the roles of addresser and addressee. The question of why is also central in relation to theories of Bildung, which is discussed in the first chapter of the book. Lund (2006) points out that an extended use of new technologies in learning environments means that the traditional set of questions associated with didactics needs to be widened to include two more: where to teach and when. Traditional constraints of time and place do not necessarily exist anymore, as it is possible to work synchronously or asynchronously. The important role played by digital technologies in information, representation and communication in the Web 2.0 era taps into central aspects of the subject of English, including the fundamental concepts of communicative competence and intercultural competence. Theoretical views on knowledge in the subject and views on general learning theories, language learning theories and, in particular, theories of learning (or acquisition) of a second or later language are all decisive factors in curriculum development, in what is taught, and in how English is taught and learnt in the classroom. THE RATIONALE FOR THE TOPICS CHOSEN The book is divided into three main sections: “Basic concepts”, “Skills and competences” and “Other important issues”. The opening chapter of the first section gives an overview of the historical development of English as a school subject. Examining historical developments is essential not only for understanding teaching and learning situations of the past, but also for understanding teaching and learning situations in the 21st century. This is relevant also in a more practical perspective, in the sense that there will always be explicit traces of earlier teaching methods in English textbooks and in the way teaching is practised in English classrooms. This chapter also defines and discusses Bildung as a basic concept in Norwegian curricula for English. Communicative competence is the most fundamental concept in the teaching and learning of English, and has been so since the introduction of the communicative paradigm in the mid-1970s. All aspects of English didactics today relate to this concept in some way or another.

Introduction

The second central concept discussed in this section of the book is intercultural competence, which is increasingly relevant in a global world in which societies are typically multicultural and multilingual and where people are often plurilingual. The concept of intercultural competence was introduced in Norwegian national curriculum guidelines in 1994 for upper secondary school and in 1997 for primary and lower secondary school (Skulstad, 2012). Part II is called “Skills and competences”. An obvious choice of topics is an examination of the four basic skills specified in the English subject curriculum of the Knowledge Promotion (LK20). There are separate chapters on oral skills, writing, reading and digital competence. Vocabulary teaching is often reported to be challenging for teachers. It is our impression that vocabulary is often taught without sufficient focus on progression and context, and that teachers of English are motivated to learn more about this essential aspect of language learning didactics. The same is the case with grammar teaching. Both teachers and student teachers may struggle to find alternatives to more traditional ways of teaching grammar, and the chapter on grammar teaching presents such alternatives. The use of authentic texts has always been central within a communicative paradigm, and literary texts are important examples of such texts. The chapter on literature discusses various approaches to fiction in the classroom and links literature teaching to fundamental concepts such as Bildung and intercultural competence. The last chapter in Part II discusses multimodality. This topic is becoming an increasingly important part of the teaching and learning of English in the 21st century, and devoting a whole chapter to this aspect of communication reflects this fact. In the third part of the book other central issues within English didactics are discussed. Several books and articles on language didactics that have been issued in the 21st century discuss learning strategies. However, few publications examine the important connection between learning strategies and learner autonomy. Consequently, a chapter has been devoted to discussing these two central concepts in relation to each other.

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Teaching English in vocational studies involves particular challenges and possibilities. Many teachers of English will be working with vocational students as part of their very first job after having finished their education. Thus, it is vital to prepare future teachers for this important job. Every teacher will be faced with the challenge of selecting texts and tasks for the teaching of English on a day-to-day basis and will take part in the decision process of selecting a new textbook at his or her school. The chapter on analysis of learning materials suggests principles which may help teachers to make didactically sound choices of textbooks and other materials. In the last few years, there has been an increasing focus on assessment and testing within pedagogy and didactics. However, there is a need for more articles on assessment and testing directly related to the subject of English in a Norwegian school context. The final chapter of this book may be seen as a response to this need. Reflection is the essence of studies within the field of English didactics and a prerequisite for fruitful processes of learning and self-evaluation for each individual student teacher. Every chapter of this book aims to be a catalyst for such processes of reflection. In the past few years, there has been a focus on the need for encouraging teachers to act as researchers by carrying out action research in their own English classrooms or taking part in collaborative projects. This book is designed to inspire readers in carrying out research projects on the teaching and learning of English. Teaching English in the 21st Century: Central Issues in English Didactics presents and discusses historical, theoretical, curricular and practical aspects of the subject of English, while directing attention to new developments within the teaching and learning of second or later languages. The book thus attempts to bring together the why, what and how of a multi-faceted and dynamic school subject.

Introduction

References Aase, L., Lorentzen, S., Streitlien, Å. & Tarrou, A.-L. H. (1998). Fagdidaktikk. Innføring i fagdidaktikkens forutsetninger og utvikling. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget. Hokstad, L. M. (2002). IKT og læring – et didaktisk perspektiv. In S. R. Ludvigsen & T. L. Hoel (Eds.), Et utdanningssystem i endring: IKT og læring (pp. 208–225). Oslo: Gyldendal Akademisk Forlag. Lund, A. (2006). The multiple contexts of online language teaching. Language Teaching Research, 10(2), 181–204. National Curriculum for Knowledge Promotion 2020 (2019). LK20. Læreplan i engelsk (English subject curriculum) (ENG1-04). Oslo: Kunnskapsdepartementet. Retrieved from https://www.udir.no/lk20/eng01-04 Sjøberg, S. (2001). Innledning: Skole, kunnskap og fag. In S. Sjøberg (Ed.), Fagdebatikk – Fagdidaktisk innføring i sentrale skolefag (pp. 11–48). Oslo: Gyldendal Akademisk Forlag. Skulstad, A. S. (2012). Trender i postmetodenes tidsalder i engelsk fagdidaktikk. Norsk Pedagogisk Tidsskrift, 96(4), 317–328.

BASIC CONCEPTS

CHAPTER 1

THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OFÂ ENGLISH AS A SCHOOL SUBJECT Anne-Brit Fenner

INTRODUCTION This chapter gives a historical overview of the development of teaching English in Norway. When discussing the changing role of English teaching in the Norwegian educational context, it is in some cases also necessary to include briefly the teaching of other foreign languages. The main focus of this chapter will be on English curricula in the second half of the 20th century and the first decades of the 21st. In the late 18th and 19th centuries, no national curricula existed, and it is through school records and textbooks that the development of English as a school subject can be traced. From 1993 onwards, national curricula as a whole must be discussed in addition to English subject curricula, as the overall aims of all subjects are presented through a so-called Core Curriculum (1993; 2017), which, in addition to Bildung (danning) aims, defines values on which Norwegian education is built. The chapter will consider why English was taught at different periods of time in Norway, how it was taught and, to a limited extent, what

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learning materials were used. Why is usually connected to overall aims of the subject, especially Bildung aims. How is indirectly linked to why, but is more specifically related to the development of theories of methodology and didactics, based on learning theories and, in particular, language learning theories. As Bildung is a fundamental aim of all Norwegian education and English is defined as a Bildung subject, the chapter will start by defining the concept and discussing various Bildung traditions. The British terms upper secondary level, lower secondary level and primary level are used in this chapter in order to indicate the divisions of the curricula according to the age of the pupils. It is important to bear in mind that these terms include both private and church-run schools in the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as municipal, county and state-run schools later on. BILDUNG Bildung is a dynamic concept, the understanding of which has changed through educational history. Various theories of Bildung have been developed and explored, and content and methods of teaching have been influenced by the different theories. “Bildung is not primarily a substance, but a process” (Korsgaard & Løvlie, 2003, p. 34); it exists in the relationship between our shared past and one’s own personal biography. It is a matter of self-development, whether one lives in a modern or a post-modern world (Korsgaard & Løvlie, 2003, p. 34). The concept has evolved from referring to the development of the individual to referring to the development of the individual personality in interaction with the outside world. A comprehensive definition of Bildung in relation to present-day education is given by Aase (2003, p. 17, my translation): a socialisation process which leads to an understanding and a mastery of the common, valued cultural forms, as well as the ability to participate in these. This includes ways of thinking, the potential to act and knowledge within a varied field.

Chapter 1: The historical development of English as a school subject

Wolfgang Klafki (1996) defines three main categories of Bildung traditions: material, formal and categorial Bildung, which are useful terms when describing the historical development of the English subject. Within the material traditions, Bildung is related to the content of learning materials, the object. Having gained knowledge of canonical literary texts in English, for instance, characterises a person of Bildung. Canonical texts in this context means highly valued literary texts within the Englishspeaking cultures, for instance Shakespeare’s plays, Romantic poetry and Victorian novels. Material Bildung is thus seen as a fairly static entity. Formal Bildung traditions, on the other hand, are primarily subjective and do not focus on the content of learning, but on learning processes and the learner’s ability to learn. Throughout the historical development of the English subject both of the above traditions can be recognised and will be pointed out in this chapter. Klafki’s third concept, categorial Bildung, is one where the two above categories exist in a dialectic relationship (Aase, 2005, p. 20). Learning about a topic is not sufficient for Bildung; categorial Bildung requires that the content learnt influences the way the learner thinks and acts; it requires reflection and critical thinking. Klafki uses the term exemplary teaching when discussing categorial Bildung, which means that the content used in teaching has to consist of good examples. In order to promote categorial Bildung, both the quality of the texts and the tasks created for the learners to interact with and reflect on are vital. ENGLISH AS A SCHOOL SUBJECT IN THE 18TH AND 19TH CENTURIES Upper secondary level Classical languages like Latin and Greek, especially the former, played an important part at upper levels of cathedral schools in Norway at the end of the 18th century. Gradually Classical Greek gained ground. Obviously the aim of foreign language teaching was not for students to learn to speak the languages, as they did not exist in spoken form, but for students to develop Bildung: their thinking and character, especially through learning grammar.

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As early as 1798 the Cathedral School in Christiania offered teaching of the modern languages English, German and French, although these did not have the same status as the classical languages. Nor were they taught by the regular teachers at the school, but by teachers who were hired on a temporary basis and not necessarily qualified, which made the teaching of the modern languages vulnerable to rapid changes. At the turn of the century a pedagogical debate arose, not only about which subjects best promoted Bildung, but also about the methods used in foreign language teaching. The focus now turned to the usefulness of language learning (Høigård, 1942). According to the headmaster of the Cathedral School, it was far more useful to learn “living languages” than to waste time learning Latin (Høigård, 1942, p. 174). “Living languages”, a term still common in French, referred to the fact that these languages were actually in use, unlike the “dead” languages Latin and Classical Greek. The teaching of modern languages, however, still did not aim at enabling students to speak the language; the focus in the classroom was on grammar, reading and writing. The main goal was to develop logical and systematic thinking through working with foreign language texts and through learning by heart. Despite the fact that English was taught at Christiania Cathedral School at the end of the 1700s, the subject gradually lost ground, and between 1833 and 1858 English was not taught at all at the school. In German and French teaching, however, there was an increasing focus on the practical use of the language. With the new school law of 1857, English was reintroduced as an optional subject. At Christiania Cathedral School two books were read in the classroom for beginners of English, one of which was a Shakespeare play (Høigård, 1942, p. 335). Although one would think that a play by Shakespeare was chosen as teaching material for beginners because of its learning content, this was not the case. The play itself was just the means to achieve another goal: “individuality and the development of personality”, as expressed by a prominent teacher in the pedagogical debate at the time (Høigård, 1942, p. 355). It was believed that the personality of the individual developed through the challenging learning process itself.

Chapter 1: The historical development of English as a school subject

Through the 19th century foreign language teaching changed, and more emphasis was put on being able to speak the language. This was mainly due to prominent individual teachers who were able to use the language, and their influence spread. Students actually experienced that “English was really a living language which could be spoken, and which the teachers themselves were able to speak” (Høigård, 1942, p. 406). When a new law for upper secondary education was introduced in 1869 (Lov om Offentlige skoler for den høiere Almenndannelse), students could choose between two fields of study: sciences or foreign languages, mainly Latin. The law removed Latin from lower secondary school and Classical Greek from upper secondary level. The main aim of Bildung as a formative aim of foreign language learning changed, and the content of the texts read in the English classroom was emphasised. A number of authentic factual and literary texts were read, for instance, from Herrig’s The British classical authors: Select specimens of the national literature of England from G. Chaucer to the present time with biographical and critical sketches. Poetry and Prose (1855).1 The texts were aimed at giving students insight into the culture of the elite, i.e. educated members of the upper classes who had intellectual power, and thus to develop their knowledge and thinking, enabling them to become individuals who possessed material Bildung. Lower secondary level

The report below is based on written material from one particular lower secondary school, Trondhjems Borgerlige Realskole. It should be remembered that in the 18th and first part of the 19th centuries, foreign language teaching was limited to bigger towns in Norway, and very few schools in these towns. The above-mentioned school was intended for children of businessmen and civil servants. From the opening of the school in 1783 onwards, foreign language teaching was central to the curriculum. It was mainly girls who were taught modern foreign languages, especially French, which was required in the polite female society of the

Indbydelsesskrift til Den offentlige Examen i Bergen Kathedralskole (1878).

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Fig. 1.1

One of the early English textbooks used in Norway.

Chapter 1: The historical development of English as a school subject

upper classes. The languages were taught with the aim of the students being able to use them socially, and Latin, consequently, became less important than earlier. The scope of subjects in these schools was wider than in the cathedral schools, as it was seen as important for the students’ Bildung that their knowledge covered several areas. The main Bildung aim was to develop “the whole person” through promoting a wide scope of “knowledge and skills” (Støren & Schmidt, 1956). Right from the start, the school invested in textbooks of English: Prager Englische Grammatik and Bailey’s English-German Dictionary (Støren & Schmidt, 1956). It is worth noting that the former was written in German. The titles also show a clear focus on grammar and, as discussed above, learning grammar was in itself an aim in order to promote Bildung. Primary level

English as an optional subject was first taught at primary level in schools on the south coast of Norway around the 1870s, where it was deemed useful for young people entering into shipping and trade to know the language. Gradually this was perceived as a mistaken focus, because other subjects were regarded as more important, for instance natural science (Gundem, 1989, p. 4). The school laws of 1936 (Skolelovene av 1936) introduced English across the country, but local authorities could decide whether or not to make the subject compulsory. According to Gundem (1989), the subject served a dual purpose: on the one hand, English was useful in society, and on the other hand, it was a subject allowing entrance to higher levels of education; in other words, the subject had both a democratic and an elitist purpose (Gundem, 1989). The reason given for choosing English rather than German as the first foreign language to be learnt was its importance for the Norwegian commercial fleet and for Norwegian-American relations (Høigård & Ruge, 1971). Although schools offered English from 1936 onwards, it was mainly taught in town schools. In rural areas, where primary-school children only went to school three days a week, English was offered outside of school hours, usually on alternate days where there were no compulsory lessons. Only in 1969, after debates about democracy in schools had taken

fig

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place in the 1950s, did English become a school subject for all pupils in Norway. Two issues were central to these debates: whether nine years of schooling for all should be compulsory, and whether all children were capable of learning a foreign language. This again raised the question of the purpose and aims of the English subject. As a compulsory subject for all, both able and motivated learners and those less able and motivated, the content as well as the methods of teaching needed to change. TEACHING METHODS IN THE 20TH CENTURY The Grammar-Translation Method Up until the beginning of the 20th century, the Grammar-Translation method, inherited from the teaching of Latin, was all-important. In the classroom the students read texts, learnt normative grammar, wrote dictations and translated short texts to and from the target language. The aim was for learners to read “highly valued, authentic texts in order to develop their minds” (Ytreberg, 1993, my translation). As mentioned above, the belief was that the difficulty of the text, specifically, had an educational and disciplinary effect, as the learners had to work hard over time to understand it. In other words, they were meant to develop systematic and logical thinking through hard work. The following quotation from a student in the mid-1800s can serve as an example of this (in Lorentzen, Streitlien, Tarrou & Aase, 1998, p. 71, my translation): Our English reader contained only two texts, one of which I have forgotten, but the other one stuck in my mind. It started like this: “We are told that Sultan Mahommad by his perpetual wars abroad and his tyranny at home has ruined his state”, etc., and these texts were varied endlessly both in Norwegian and in English, both in questions and answers, both in the active and the passive voice, and I do not exaggerate when I say that the teaching of just the one text lasted at least for one year.

This is an extreme example of the role the literary text played in the English classroom. However, reading authentic literary texts was an important aspect of the Grammar-Translation method. As the title of

Chapter 1: The historical development of English as a school subject

the method indicates, translating to and from the target language was another aspect. Communication in the classroom was in Norwegian, and the teacher played a central role and was the one who provided the correct answers. Grammar and grammar rules were the main emphasis of the teaching in addition to memorising vocabulary. As far as culture was concerned, the focus was on the culture of the so-called elite: the highly educated members of society. There was little or no attention paid to pronunciation, speaking or listening. The Direct Method

Education changed radically at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries as a result of the so-called Reform Movement. This movement primarily promoted public and compulsory schooling, especially in the United States, but also led to changes in how school subjects were taught. John Dewey’s theories (Dewey, 1916) influenced education in both the USA and Europe. As far as the teaching of foreign languages was concerned, the Reform Movement resulted in spoken language becoming a focus in the classroom. The German scholar Wilhelm Viëtor’s work on the role of oral language and phonetics greatly influenced the way foreign languages were taught, especially through his publication Der Sprachunterricht muss umkehren! (Language teaching must change!) (1882). Viëtor’s work, together with that of François Gouin, resulted in what is called the Direct method, which was also influential in English teaching in Norway in the early decades of the 20th century (Knap, 1916). It was termed the Direct method because the teaching of the foreign language did not happen via the mother tongue. Like the Grammar-Translation method, it focused on grammar, but texts constructed specifically to illustrate grammatical phenomena were introduced in textbooks. Grammar rules were to be discovered through reading the constructed texts; the content of the text was not the main issue. Acquiring an active vocabulary was one of the aims, and vocabulary was to be learnt primarily by connecting words and expressions to the “realities” they represented (Gundem, 1989, p. 30). Translation, which had previously constituted an important part of learning the foreign language, was now regarded as impeding acquisition. A major difference between this method and the

TEACHING ENGLISH IN THE 21 ST CENTURY

previous one was that spoken language was emphasised, and students had to learn phonetic symbols from the start. The focus on oral English shows that an important aim was being able to use the language for communication. The Direct method mainly influenced the teaching of beginners and lower levels of school, while learning about Englishspeaking cultures was left to higher levels of education. The focus on the use of English in the classroom was clearly expressed in the curriculum of 1939 (Normalplan for byfolkeskolen av 1939) (1957), which included minimal criteria for pronunciation, for the ability to understand the language, and for reading and writing English. In addition it required knowledge of main areas of grammar and an active, general and useful vocabulary (1957, p.Â 235). Cultural knowledge was not stated as an aim in the teaching of English in this curriculum.

i (ea)

(ei)

(ie)

(eo)

sea

deceit

piece

people

each

ceiling

o. s. v.

o. s. v. gjerne hele siden ned eller:

Ĺ&#x2039;

(g)

(ng)

gay

song

longer

long

stronger

strong o. s. v.

Fig. 1.2

The Direct method. An example of a task to practise correct spelling from pronunciation.

PREVIEW

TEACHING ENGLISH IN THE 21 ST CENTURY

ANNE-BRIT FENNER AND

The main aim of this book is to define and discuss concepts and competences related to the teaching and learning of English in the 21st century.

AUD SOLBJØRG SKULSTAD (EDS.)

TEACHING ENGLISH IN THE 21 ST CENTURY CENTRAL ISSUES IN ENGLISH DIDACTICS 2 ND EDITION

ISBN 978-82-450-3433-2

,!7II2E5-adeddc!

ANNE-BRIT FENNER AND AUD SOLBJØRG SKULSTAD (EDS.)