BUILDING A BALANCED LANGUAGE PROGRAM: AN INTRODUCTION TO NATION’S FOUR STRANDS David Herman Foundation for Scholarly Exchange in Taipei, Taiwan
Most language teachers would agree that the purpose of any language course is to help students develop fluent control over features of the target language such as vocabulary, grammar, and discourse features so that they can be used in effective communication. In other words, we teach the language with the goal that our students will be able to use the language. Unfortunately, the ways in which many traditionally teach classes – teacher-centered with an emphasis on vocabulary and grammar – do not provide our students with the practice and practical skills development to become a fluent user of the target language. Achieving the goal of effective communication in the target language requires a broad set of skills across language domains. For example, effective participation in an oral conversation requires skills in both speaking and listening. In order to provide language learners with optimal opportunities to develop all the language skills needed for effective communication, Paul Nation developed what he calls a well-balanced language curriculum. Paul Nation is an emeritus professor from the School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies at the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. He specializes in the teaching and learning of vocabulary and in language teaching methodology. The purpose of Nation’s four strands is to help language teachers and course designers make sure that there is a balance of different learning opportunities in any language course. Nation (1996) notes that it is not uncommon to see courses that do little else than focus on formal features of the target language, such as vocabulary and grammar, and provide little opportunity for students to put what they have learned to practical use. On the other extreme, some courses may have a very strong communicative focus and actively discourse form-focused direct instruction. Nation (2012) argues that neither situation is ideal for helping learners develop practical communication skills. A focus on form is not enough, neither is a focus on communication. What is needed is a balance of proven strategies across the four strands. Teachers are often looking for the ‘best methods’ when deciding how to teach their students. Nation (1996), however, argues that “it is much more productive to become aware of the important principles of teaching and learning, and to apply these in ways that suit the learners, the teaching conditions and the skills of the teacher” (p. 7). In other words, “it makes more sense to have a range of ways of helping the learning of certain language features and skills than to rely on only one way” (Nation, 2012, p. 168). Nation (1996) even goes so far as to say “...it is not wise for a teacher or course designer to ally themselves with a particular method of language teaching” (p. 7). Therefore, the four strands are presented as a set of principles for creating a well-balanced language curriculum. The specific teaching techniques and activities used, however, are up to the teacher and learners. Nation (2012) notes that, through the four strands, a teacher or course designer can answer questions such as the following: ● How can I teach vocabulary? ● What should a well-balanced listening course contain? ● How much extensive reading should we do?
