The classroom practices of language teachers are of interest to many different people. Program administrators and supervisors are interested in knowing whether the teacher's instructional practices are relevant to the program's goals and objectives. Students are interested in knowing whether the activities and experiences the teacher provides are helping them develop their language skills. And researchers are interested in studying the nature of the discourse teachers use in classrooms and the interactional structure of lessons. But those with the greatest interest in knowing what teachers do in classrooms are teachers themselves. All teachers want to know what kind of teachers they are and how well they are doing. A supervisor's evaluations and students' grades are ways of assessing this, but a more direct source of information for teachers is regular observation of their own teaching. Although few language teachers avail themselves of this resource on a regular basis, self-monitoring has much to recommend it as a component of the teacher's ongoing professional development.

What is self-monitoring?

Self-monitoring or self-observation refers to a systematic approach to the observation, evaluation, and management of one's own behavior (Armstrong and Frith 1984), for the purposes of achieving a better understanding and control over one's behavior. In everyday life, people often make use of self-monitoring, such as when a shopper uses a shopping list to guide and restrict purchases during shopping, or when a person writes a daily personal diary and periodically reviews it to monitor progress in attaining personal goals.

The field of second and foreign language reading has been revitalized in recent years by changes in our understanding of the nature of the reading process. On the one hand, reading theory and research has contributed notions such as top-down and bottom-up processing. Reading is no longer viewed as a process of decoding, but rather as an integration of top-down processes that utilize background knowledge and schema, as well as bottom-up processes that are primarily text or data driven (Carrell, Devine, and Eskey 1988). In addition, researchers have focused on readers themselves and have sought to identify the strategies employed by successful readers as they interact with a text during reading (see Chapter 2). Using think-aloud and introspective/retrospective research techniques, students perform reading tasks and verbalize their thought processes, reflecting upon the cognitive strategies and heuristics they employ when dealing with different kinds of reading problems (Hosenfeld 1984).

The second or foreign language reading teacher who understands the differences between top-down and bottom-up processing and the role played by schema and background knowledge in reading will look for classroom strategies that encourage second language readers to use an appropriate combination of processing strategies when they approach a text. Likewise a familiarity with differences between effective and ineffective reading strategies can help the teacher look for effective reading behaviors in learners, encourage wider use of these strategies, and be on the lookout for learners using less effective strategies.

Learning to write in either a first or second language is one of the most difficult tasks a learner encounters and one that few people can be said to fully master. Many native speakers leave school with a poor command of writing. Even at university level, students require further instruction in writing, providing employment for the teams of instructors in college English departments who teach courses in freshman composition. Learning to write well is a difficult and lengthy process, one that induces anxiety and frustration in many learners.

Yet good writing skills are essential to academic success and a requirement for many occupations and professions. In adult life, people's writing needs are both institutional and personal (Davies and Widdowson 1974). Institutional writing is writing produced in a professional or institutional role, such as that of businessperson, teacher, or student, and conforms to institutional conventions. Personal writing includes personal letters and creative writing. In an ESL writing program, purposes are much more restricted. Most school-related writing is destined either for the teacher (e.g., essays, assignments) or for the learners themselves (e.g., notes, summaries). Writing is used either as evidence of successful learning or as a means of learning. Because writing leads to a product that can be examined and reviewed immediately, it provides feedback to the teacher and learner on what has been understood. It can also guide the process of understanding and organizing ideas during reading or listening (Emig 1971).

In Chapter 1, methodology in teaching was described as the activities, tasks, and learning experiences used by the teacher within the teaching arid learning process. Methodology was seen to have a theoretical basis in the teacher's assumptions about (a) language and second language learning, (b) teacher and learner roles, and (c) learning activities and instructional materials. These assumptions and beliefs provide the basis for the conscious or unconscious decision making that underlies the moment-to-moment processes of teaching. Methodology is not therefore something fixed, a set of rigid principles and procedures that the teacher must conform to. Rather it is a dynamic, creative, and exploratory process that begins anew each time the teacher encounters a group of learners. Teaching as an exploratory process is different from the approach to teaching seen in many teacher preparation programs or language teaching programs, where particular instructional methods, such as the Silent Way, Total Physical Response, or the Natural Approach, are presented as models to be imitated and internalized. In this chapter, these two approaches to teaching will be explored in more depth. The use of methods as the basis for instructional processes in a second language program will be compared with one that moves beyond methods and focuses on exploring the nature of effective classroom teaching and learning.

The Language Teaching Matrix is designed to serve as a textbook in courses on language teaching methodology and teacher preparation, and as a source book for courses on language curriculum design, materials development, and teaching practice. The “matrix” in the title is a metaphor for an interactive and multidimensional view of language teaching; for in this book effective language teaching is seen to result from inter-actions among the curriculum, teachers, students, methodology, and instructional materials. In particular, three factors are singled out as central to effective teaching: the curriculum, methodology, and instructional materials.

This is not a book of prescriptions, where teaching is approached in terms of methods, or products that offer teachers predetermined models to follow. Rather, teaching is approached as a dynamic process. Teaching depends upon the application of appropriate theory, the development of careful instructional designs and strategies, and the study of what actually happens in the classroom. Because these ingredients will change according to the teaching context, effective teaching is continually evolving throughout one's teaching career. Discussion questions and tasks at the end of each chapter will aid teachers in their personal journeys toward effective teaching.

Each chapter in the book takes a central issue in language teaching and examines its position within the language teaching matrix – that is, its role and position within the network of factors that have to be considered. Chapter 1 presents an overview of curriculum development processes and suggests that an effective second language program depends upon careful information gathering, planning, development, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.

In Chapter 1 the role of instructional materials in the language curriculum was discussed, and it was argued that effective instructional materials in language teaching are based on theoretically sound learning principles, are appropriate to the learners' needs, provide examples of how language is used, and provide opportunities for communicative and authentic language use. In this chapter, some of the theoretical principles underlying the design of listening materials will be examined. Any approach to the design of listening comprehension materials and classroom activities reflects a view of the nature of listening and the processes it involves. An understanding of the role of bottom-up and top-down processes in listening is central to any theory of listening comprehension, as well as recognition of the differences between the interactional and transactional dimensions of language use and how these affect listening. In this chapter, these views of listening are first elaborated and then applied to the design of instructional materials and activities for the teaching of listening comprehension.

Listening processes: bottom-up and top-down processing

Two distinct kinds of processes are involved in listening comprehension, which are sometimes referred to as “bottom-up” and “top-down” processing (Chaudron and Richards 1986). Bottom-up processing refers to the use of incoming data as a source of information about the meaning of a message. From this perspective, the process of comprehension begins with the message received, which is analyzed at successive levels of organization – sounds, words, clauses, and sentences – until the intended meaning is arrived at. Comprehension is thus viewed as a process of decoding.

A major focus of language programs in many parts of the world is preparing students of limited proficiency in a second or foreign language to cope with school instruction in the new language. In many urban settings, there are large school-age populations of children with minimal or restricted proficiency in the school language. The options available at the school level vary according to school or district policy, school and teacher resources, and the age, background, and numbers of children involved. Students may receive an intensive language program before being mainstreamed, or they may enter classes that parallel regular classes in subjects such as science or social studies but are designed for students with limited proficiency in the school language.

In their mainstream classes, these students are expected to progress in school work at the same rate as other children of their age, despite not having a full command of the linguistic medium through which school subjects are being taught. In designing language programs that enable such students to make a successful transition to the mainstream classroom, many issues arise. What is the nature of the mainstream classroom? How can the second language curriculum support the mainstream curriculum? What demands does content learning place on students of limited proficiency in the school language? In this chapter the nature of these problems will be examined, drawing both on analytical reviews of research on classroom learning, as well as on observations of second language students in mainstream classroom settings.

The “conversation class” is something of an enigma in language teaching. In some language programs it is an opportunity for untrained native speakers to get students to talk for the duration of a class period, using whatever resources and techniques the teacher can think of. In language programs where trained language teachers are available, they are often left to their own resources and encouraged to dip into whatever materials they choose in order to provide practice in both “accuracy” and “fluency.” Consequently the content of conversation classes varies widely. In one class, the teacher's primary emphasis might be on problem solving. Students work on communication games and tasks in pairs or small groups with relatively little direct teacher input. In another class, the teacher might have a more active role, employing grammar and pronunciation drills and structured oral tasks. A third teacher may use the conversation class as an opportunity for unstructured free discussion, while in another class the teacher might have students work on situational dialogues such as “At the bank” and “At the supermarket.”

Part of the difficulty in deciding what to do in the conversation class is due to the nature of conversation itself. What is conversation and what is involved in producing fluent, appropriate, and intelligible conversation? Can conversation be taught or is it something that is acquired simply by doing it? What principles can be used in planning a conversation program and in developing classroom activities and materials? These questions are addressed in this chapter by first examining the nature of conversation, and then considering the implications for planning an approach to the teaching of conversation.

The aim of this book has been to examine the language teaching matrix – that is, the interactions between teachers, learners, the curriculum, classroom activities, and instructional materials – and to try to account for how different aspects of this process can be described, planned, implemented, and monitored. In doing so, I looked at some of the key issues that shape the field of second and foreign language teaching. Language teaching, somewhat more than other areas of educational focus, has been subject to constant changing enthusiasm for different “solutions” to the language teaching challenge. Typically, however, innovators focus on a single dimension of what is inevitably a multidimensional phenomenon. As Clark (1985: 6) puts it:

My own view is likewise that the field of second and foreign language teaching requires a comprehensive view of how successful learning and teaching is planned for and accomplished in educational settings. This perspective involves approaching language teaching as a particular case of educational program design.

Second language teaching is often viewed from a very narrow perspective – that of the teaching act. Consequently much of the literature on second language teaching deals with teaching methods or with the design and use of instructional materials. If students aren't learning it is assumed to be the fault of the method, the materials, or the teacher. Yet the success of a language program involves far more than the mere act of teaching. As with any successful educational program, a number of levels of planning, development, and implementation are involved. Goals and objectives for the program have to be developed as well as syllabuses and instructional materials. Instructional strategies have to be determined, teachers selected and trained, and tests and assessment procedures chosen. Once the program is in operation, procedures are needed to enable the program to be monitored and its effects on learners and learning evaluated. In order to plan for effective second language teaching, a comprehensive view is needed of the nature and process of language program development. Providing such a view is the goal of this chapter, in which issues and practices in language curriculum development are reviewed and their contribution to effective language teaching assessed.

Language curriculum development, like other areas of curriculum activity, is concerned with principles and procedures for the planning, delivery, management, and assessment of teaching and learning. Curriculum development processes in language teaching comprise needs analysis, goal setting, syllabus design, methodology, and testing and evaluation.