1 On Knowing a Language: Communicative Competence, Proficiency and the Standards for Foreign Language Learning
  1.1 - Before You Read


1. Before reading any of this chapter, give your own definition of the following terms:
1. communicative competence
2. proficiency
3. standards
2. Throughout Teaching Language in Context , you will be considering various influences on the teaching and learning of languages. Certainly the way we learned a second language is one influence on our view of language teaching. In order to clarify the possible influence of your own personal language-learning experience on your teaching, complete the form below. You will use the responses as you work with various aspects of this program.
1. What is your first language?
2. What other languages do you speak, understand, read, or write?
3. What languages were or are spoken by your immediate and extended family members?
4. What languages were spoken in the neighborhood or community where you grew up?
5. At what age did you begin learning another language?
6. What were the circumstances of your language learning? Did you learn the language(s) at school? From family members? from friends?
7. If you learned a second language in school, describe the teaching approach you experienced in the classroom. Was grammar emphasized? Speaking? Writing? Was there any aspect that did not receive much attention?
8. How much contact did you have with native speakers of the language(s) you studied or of other languages?


9. Did you have opportunities to use the language studied outside of the classroom? If yes, describe those experiences.
10. Did you spend time in the target culture? How much? For what purpose?
11. To what do you attribute your success in learning another language?
12. Have there been any conditions under which you felt you were not successful in learning language? If so, describe the situation and how you either overcame or did not overcome the difficulties.




ONLINE WORKBOOK 1.1

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