Feasibility of Functional Approach to EFL Teaching in Iran.

Autor/in	Hashemi, Mohammad Reza
Titel	Feasibility of Functional Approach to EFL Teaching in Iran.
Quelle	(1992), (8 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
Schlagwörter	Classroom Techniques; Educational Needs; Educational Strategies; English (Second Language); Foreign Countries; Grammar; Higher Education; Instructional Effectiveness; Instructional Materials; Notional Functional Syllabi; Relevance (Education); Second Language Instruction; Secondary Education; Translation; Iran + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Klassenführung; Educational need; Bildungsbedarf; Lehrstrategie; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Ausland; Grammatik; Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; Unterrichtserfolg; Lehrmaterial; Lehrmittel; Unterrichtsmedien; Funktional-notionaler Ansatz; Relevance; Relevanz; Fremdsprachenunterricht; Sekundarbereich
Abstract	In Iran, English second language (ESL) instruction is increasing rapidly. Generally, the instruction is structural and the focus is on grammatical features. Structural and grammar-translation methods of teaching are most common, and change is resisted. Against this background, however, some college instructors of the new generation have begun to test out the functional approach through research in three areas: Teaching functional controlled writing, translation tests as measures for assessing comprehension of functions in written discourse, and teaching functions in conversation. Results have implications for ESL instruction in Iran, but instructional practice should be tailored to the students' needs. Many high school and college students have limited occasion to use functional language and are not motivated to learn it. However, other learners of English would benefit from functional language instruction. These include translators, translation students, professors and the clergy; in fact, the clergy and the revolutionary young generation comprise the main group of Iranian English learners. Writers of ESL instructional materials should prepare texts containing educated discourse that is relevant to students' subject areas and geared to their proficiency level; this may mean simplification. Iranian English learners badly need appropriate authentic texts, workbooks, and audio-visual materials in which persuasive discourse is taught for the academic, not conversational, context and from which cultural bias is removed. Teaching guides to accompany the materials are essential. (Contains 12 references.) (MSE)
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC