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Current best thought and practice in foreign-language pedagogy espouses a communicative approach: The student is to acquire a practical competence in the target language, at a specified level: the ability to understand, speak and write the language to carry out real-world tasks, such as arranging shelter, obtaining food, or - at a very high level - persuading someone to agree to a business deal. To carry out such tasks, using language (rather than, perhaps, hand gestures) does require competence in vocabulary; but to do so the learner does not need to acquire conscious knowledge of grammar rules and terminology, or manipulate two-language vocabulary lists, which are two goals of much uninformed language teaching. On the contrary, the learner is best served by capable modeling of real-world language at a reasonable level, by sufficient input from sources of realistic linguistic and cultural content, and plenty of practice in partner- and small-group communicative activities - with the teacher nearby to confirm capable language use and provide helpful correction of significant errors. Assessment must be consistent with pedagogy: •• This tutorial consists of abstracts of 8 core articles: |
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