Principles of language learning and teaching
Activities
Core textbook: Brown, H. (2014). Principles of language learning and teaching: A course in
second language acquisition (Sixth ed.).
1- Read Chapter 6 and answer the following question: Which affective principles do you
think is the most important? Why
2- View the video and reflect on the factors that could be used for student engagement. Do
you agree/disagree with Zoltan Dornyei? Why/Why not? Video link
https://youtu.be/hg6BSbpVgVU
3- Read Chapter 7 and answer the following questions:
How did your teacher help you to deal with your psychological states in relation to your
own cross-cultural and L2 learning experiences?
4- Watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxL_DnmRa-M and answer the
02 following questions:
Question #1: How did the teacher in the video help her students to develop an awareness
of acculturation/cross-cultural issues?
Question #2: in your view, how could language lessons and activities be generated,
shaped, and revised according to principles of intercultural language learning? Refer to
the Checklist on pages 200 & 201 of the textbook.
5- Read Chapter 8 and answer the following question:
As a language teacher, how would you help your students develop their communicative
competence in language classrooms?
6- Read Chapter 8 and answer the following question:
How did your language teacher help you develop your communicative competence when
you learnt a second/foreign language?
7- Read Chapter 9 and answer the following question:
How does a teacher reach an optimum level of encouraging a student to speak (or write)
without stifling that student with overcorrection? How would you, as a teacher, select certain
errors to treat?
8- Read Chapter 9, refer to Stages of Learner Language Development on pages 244 -246
and answer the following question:
Question #1: Can you recall going through any of the four stages of interlanguage
development described on pages 244 – 246?
Question #2: What were some manifestations of your moving from one stage to another?
Question #3: What techniques did your teacher(s) use to help you to progress from, say,
an emergent stage to a systematic stage?
9- View this video by clicking on the link and share what you have learnt from these tips
and how you would apply them in your oral presentation. https://youtu.be/KCI7R-96EKQ
10- Read Chapter 5 and answer the following question:
In your foreign language classes, how have your teachers catered for individuals’
different learning styles? What are some methodological techniques that could be used by
a language teacher to cater for individual learners’ differences?
11- Read Chapter 10 and answer the following questions:
Question #1: Do you ever feel that SLA “theory” is too far removed from classroom
practice?
Question #2: What are some theoretical claims or hypotheses that you would like to put
into practice in your own teaching?
Question #3: Has any of your L2 teachers been good examples of being both theorists
and practitioners?
