4. TWO FOR ONE
This proposal refers to Content-based Instruction and it suggests that learners acquire second or foreign language as they study subject matter taught in that language. That is to say, learners get two for one. They can develop both their academic skills and second language ability. Also, it creates a genuine need to communicate, motivating students to acquire language in order to understand the content.
Study 25: French immersion programmes in Canada
There are some studies which examine French immersion programmes. Firstly, in 1984, Harley and Swain expressed that although students develop fluency, listening comprehension and confidence in using language, they fail to achieve high levels of performance in some aspects of French grammar. Some researchers argued that this is because of insufficient comprehensible input in these programmes and teacher-centered classes. Also, Elaine Tarone and Merrill Swain noted in 1995 that only classroom exposure was not enough for the language learning and lessons needed to include focus on form and pragmatic features of the language.
Study 26: Late immersion under stress in Hong Kong
In 1997, Keith Johnson raised concerns about the ability of the educational system to meet the demands for such programmes. He noted that students lacked the necessary proficiency to follow the secondary level curriculum and teachers had difficulty in delivering the content because of limitation in their own language proficiency.
Study 27: Inuit children in content-based programmes
Nina Spada and Patsy Lightbown (2002) observed the teaching and learning of school subjects and language with 5-7 aged children. At the end of the observation, they concluded that the students’ lack of age-appropriate academic French is a serious problem.
As English is a foreign language in Turkey, I think that using this proposal can not be appropriate. Of course, this proposal can be used in universities’ departments such as machine engineering and medicine. However, teachers should be trained for teaching both content and its special language. In brief, using this proposal is not necessary for Turkey because we learn English as a foreign language.
5. TEACH WHAT IS TEACHABLE
According to Manfred Pienemann and his associates, some linguistic structures develop along a predictable developmental path and this refers to developmental features. This proposal gives information about the development of the learner language. Also, there are some variational features which depend on many factors such as motivation and aptitude. These certain aspects of language can be taught at any time. As a conclusion, it is suggested that while some features of the language can be taught successfully at various points in the learners’ development, other features develop according to the learners’ internal schedule.