Cours Et TD Du Module Didactique D Anglais Langue Etrangère Master 1

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Université Mohamed Seddik Ben Yahia, Jijel

Faculté des Lettres et des Langues

Département d’Anglais

Cours et TD du module Didactique de l’Anglais Langue étrangère


(Master 1 Anglais) : Semestre 2

Responsable du Module : Dr. Boukhentache Slimane

Année Universitaire : 2019/20

Title of Master: Didactics of foreign languages

Semester: Two

Title of the course: didactics of English as a foreign language

Teaching objective: Familiarizing the learner with the most recent didactic concepts and
training him/her to master classroom teaching techniques

Student background knowledge: The students have been introduced to the basic concepts of
EFL learning/teaching in the third year Licence

Content of the course:

 Didactics and pedagogy


 Fundamental concepts in didactics
1. Didactic transposition
2. Didactic triangle
3. Didactic contract
 Fundamental parameters of a foreign language classroom

Assessment Procedures: Process assessment in workshops and semester summative tests


Lecture 1: Didactics and Pedagogy

Objective: Making the student able use the key concepts of didactics correctly and
distinguish between didactics and pedagogy

Introduction

People tend to use the words didactics and pedagogy interchangeably to refer to
methods of teaching/learning; yet, although these concepts are interrelated, they have distinct
meanings. Basically, both didactics and pedagogy refer to the methods of teaching and
learning, but didactics is more related to the epistemological aspect of the subject matter. It
presumes that teaching/learning methods should be embedded in the nature of the discipline,
say English language didactics. Pedagogy or psycho-pedagogy, on the other hand, refers to
the relation between the teacher and the learner regardless of the subject matter to be taught
(Simard, Dufays, Dolz, Garcia-Debanc, 2019, p. 12).

1. Didactics

Didactics refers primarily to “the science of the art of teaching” (Chevallard, 1988)
which comes from Greek, Didaskein, i.e., to teach (Simard et al. 2019). However, this concept
encompasses not only how to teach (processes), but also what the teach (content). All the
didactic methods include the specific content of the subject matter (Halté, 1992, p. 17, in
Weisser, 2015, p. 12). Accordingly, didactics includes the following components: the
knowledge dimension, the learner, and the teacher (Ibid.).

The first constituent of didactics (i.e. content) involves both theoretical and practical
knowledge (Simard et al., 2019), more specifically, knowledge, skills, and attitudes; it covers
didactic transposition (transforming scientific knowledge to teachable knowledge) and the
processing and the simplification of the referential. As discussed in the introduction to this
work, the referential of language teaching includes linguistics, sociology, and psychology.
Basically, these theoretical bodies define what to teach and how to teach. The second
component of didactics is the learner. The latter executes learning theories in relation to
content, and it is this action-based process that feeds the theories of learning. Therefore,
learning theories are modified and accommodated in accordance to their impact on the
learner. The third element of didactics is the teacher. This aspect involves didactic
transposition and the didactic contract. First, the teacher transposes the syllabus in accordance
to the level and aptitude of his learners; second, he applies his knowledge of the didactic
theories of learning.

Simart et al. (2019, p. 12) add that the above discussed components of didactic triangle
are realized in the context that could be divided into the following elements: educational
setting (e.g., classroom or school), scientific setting (i.e., theories of learning, as well as the
referential of the discipline), and social milieu (i.e. beliefs and expectations of the educational
stake-holders). Accordingly, these further components of the didactic situation equally impact
the teaching enterprise in general, and thereby impose taking into account who to teach,
where to teach, when to teach, and why to teach (Ibid.).

Moreover, didactics of languages specifies methods of teaching and assessment


procedures. Didactics specifies whether to teach through interaction or through repetition and
drillings. For instance, the DM recommends natural language teaching or direct use of
language, ALM relies on structure practice, and CLT recommends interaction and functional
language use. With regards to assessment, the didactics of language entails certain testing
procedures. For example, ALM and GTM use paper-and-pencil tests, while communicative
language teaching employs alternative testing methods such as diaries, learning logs,
conferencing, and self-peer-assessment methods.

Finally, it should be noted here that the use of the concept of didactics is not
worldwide. It has really developed in the French literature as a young discipline since the
1970s (Simard et al., 2019) Since then, it has become the heuristic device for thinking and
communicating about educational improvements to the extent that the word pedagogy,
according to Weisser (2015), has almost been banned from French educational institutions. In
this context (as well as in Dutch and German literatures), it covers instructional design,
teaching models, assessment practices, and curriculum development. Concerning the English-
speaking educational language literature, it usually does not use this term. Rather, it uses
phrases like the pedagogy of English, teaching English as a foreign language, or teaching
English as a first language (Banegas, 2014).

2. Pedagogy

Pedagogy is a way of teaching and learning. Weisser (2015) defines pedagogy as “the
dialectic and mutual packaging of theory and practice of education administred by the same
person on the same person” (p. 11). This means pedagogy bridges the gap between theory and
practice and encompasses the teacher, theory, and action. Weisser further explains that term
pedagogy has three main facets: the teacher’s knowledge and teaching beliefs, the knowledge
of theory, and the methods and techniques used to impart knowledge. It specifies, for
instance, the best learning conditions that warrant comfortable acquisition of learning targets.
For example, a symmetrical relation between the learner and the teacher makes the learner
less anxious and more willing to take risks and experience with language.

Amongst the strategies that pedagogies advise are the use of group/pair work, drillings,
repetitions, meaning negotiation, integration, practice, learner-centredness, interaction, and
anxiety free environment. All these techniques have been evidenced through educational
theories and they are standardized and formalized for all types of learning and for various
disciplines (Richards & Rodgers, 2001). In the domain of language teaching many of these
classroom procedures are derived from the way children learn in a natural environment or
how people learn their first language.

3. Difference between Didactics and Pedagogy

On the basis of the above discussion, a set of differences between didactic and
pedagogy could be highlighted. Weiss (2015, pp. 12-13) states the following differences.

Pedagogy has an axiological dimension, but not didactics. Pedagogy refers to the
processes of teaching and classroom behaviours (Blanchet et al., 2009). In a way, it completes
didactics in that it looks for optimal ways to speed up and render efficient the acquisition of
contents. More specifically, it underscores the procedures, strategies and conditions of
learning. For example Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s educational theories are possible pedagogies
that could complement didactic methods and approaches to promote active learning. Their
respective doctrines of constructivism and socio-constructivism are used in different field of
learning, not just for language acquisition. These educational psychologists advise the use of
active and social pedagogies to ensure optimal retention of learning items. Moreover,
pedagogy is also interested in the relation between the learner and the teacher, that is, how to
make this contact conductive to acquisition.

Unlike pedagogies, didactics is specific to a particular subject. Didactics determines the


primary content that should be taught in each discipline. We could talk of the didactics of the
Arabic language, the didactics of Mathematics, and the didactic of the French language. For
example, the content selected for teaching English is different from the content chosen for
teaching Arabic. These languages have different systems, require teaching different contents,
and call for dissimilar sequencing of content (Blanchet, Rahal, Moore, 2009). In each
language teaching framework certain contents are taught before others to ensure a correct path
towards the acquisition of the target language.

Pedagogies are value-laden while didactics is value-free. Pedagogies are based on the
moral, philosophical, and cultural values of their times. For example, the pedagogies of group
work, learning through projects, and studying through tasks could be considered as
entrenched in the Western way of life; therefore, they could be difficult to apply in other
educational communities. However, didacticians are entrenched in the nature of the subject
(objective examination of the subject matter).

Pedagogies involve theorization of the teachers. They take into account the
representations of the teachers and the learner. Didacticians do not formulize teaching
methods in accordance to their beliefs and the teacher/learner representations of learning and
teaching. Only content is objectified.

Conclusion

In short, didactics is subject specific and concerns itself with the format of the content,
sequencing, evaluation procedures, and curriculum development, while pedagogy crosses
disciplines and concerns itself only with classroom processes (techniques, methods of
teaching, classroom environment, and the relationship between the teacher and the learner).

Workshop for the lecture Didactic and Pedagogy

Objective: Enable the students to correctly illustrate and experience with the key concepts in
didactics

Task 1: Give examples of methods of teaching and show how they make content easier and
more accessible for learners in terms of content selection, content sequencing, as well the
methodological guidelines.

Task 2: Give examples of pedagogical movements to illustrate the concept of pedagogy and
show how they make learning easier.
Lecture two: Didactic Transposition

Objective: By the end of the lecture, the learner will be able to understand the process of
didactic transposition and will be able to transpose in the classroom a teaching content to the
students using various didactic tools and explanation strategies.

Introduction

In any classroom, there are three fundamental components of teacher, learner, and
knowledge (content). The teacher trains or teaches the learner to practice or acquire a certain
type of knowledge, and the learner supposedly does his best to appropriate that new
knowledge. According to Chevallard (1988), the relation teacher-learner is stressed in a way
that one has the intention to teach and the other to learn. To a lesser extent, the relation
learner-knowledge is equally highlighted. However, the biggest problem is the disregard of
the relation teacher-knowledge as being sacred and unquestionable. In simpler and
straightforward words, the body of knowledge (teaching input) is ignored and the processing
of this knowledge is taken for granted as being teachable enough. Consequently, didactic
transposition has come to look at the presentation and processing of the knowledge presented
to the learner.

1. Background of Didactic Transposition

Yves Chevellard is the foremost champion of the notion of didactic transposition coined
by Michel Verret in the 1970s. He was much influenced by the works of Guy Brousseau and
Michel Verret in the 1970s on didactics in general; hence, he formalized the notion of didactic
transposition in 1985.

Chevellard gave his first courses in didactic transposition of mathematics in the 1980s
(Bosch & Gascon, 2006). Since then, the theory of didactic transposition has started to spread
mainly in French-speaking scholastic communities. Actually, this concept is mostly related
to the Franco-phone academic community than the English-speaking, and its spread to Anglo-
Saxon writing has been slow and too limited. Despite the fact that Jeremy Patrick has
translated the theory of didactic skillfully and practically to the English-speaking
communality, it has not been widely adopted by his/her community peers (Bosch & Gascon,
2006).
2. Definition of Didactic Transposition

Didactic transposition, basically, means the adaptation and transformation of scientific


or scholarly knowledge into classroom teachable object. Chevallard (1985) defines it “as the
work done to manufacture a teaching object out of an object of knowledge” (p. 39). This
means it is the making of scientific knowledge easier and accessible to general public.
Pezzimenti (2017) adds that it, equally, involves the study of practical methods and
techniques that would assist the processing of knowledge.

Chevellard (1988) holds that the body of knowledge is mostly meant to be used, not to
be taught. He gives the example of a doctor applying his/her knowledge to a patient
consulting him or a mechanic repairing a car. In both cases, the clients are not interested in
learning knowledge and the practitioners are not interested in teaching anything. However, in
education, knowledge is meant to be taught and learned. Consequently, any transformation of
knowledge (scientific/scholarly) for teaching purposes is referred to as didactic transposition
(Kang & Kilpatrick, 1992).

3. Difference between Scientific Knowledge and Didactic Knowledge

There are many differences between scientific and taught knowledge. First, scientists
use special knowledge to communicate among themselves; this language is mainly used to
promote their understanding of the new production and produce more. Didactic knowledge is
not concerned with this specialized language. Second, scholarly knowledge is a kind of
special knowledge used to produce and organize the new knowledge. The taught knowledge,
on the other hand, should be organized in a coherent way without showing the special
knowledge used for producing more (Kang & Kilpatrick, 1992). To use Chevellard’s (1988)
words, the assembly line is hidden for the learner. For example, in language teaching the
linguistic repertoire used by linguists is not reproduced in the classroom. Third, scientific
knowledge is contextualized, while the taught knowledge is re-contextualized. Scholarly
knowledge is executed in its natural context in which the phenomena exist. As Chevellard
(1988) points, the scientist is not accountable to other people (i.e. beneficiaries) to legitimize
his/her use of knowledge in a particular way. By contrast, taught knowledge is either de-
contextualized or at best re-contextualized. That is, the teachable knowledge is simplified and
taught in new forms or contexts.
Fourth, in natural settings, scientists are not responsible for making knowledge
understandable by laymen. That is, they do not consider the recipients of that knowledge.
Anyone wanting to access that technical knowledge has to work at it. Conversely, taught
knowledge takes into account its recipients. For instance, syllabus designers take into account
the background knowledge of the learner, his/her level, as well as his/her capacities. Last, but
not the least, scientific knowledge is unique and only shared among scholars, while taught
knowledge varies from one institution to another. Teachable knowledge is altered depending
on many factors such as economic, social, and political. For example, each country has its
teaching referential that takes into account its values, its economic and material conditions, as
well as its social conditions.

4. Didactic Transposition in English Language Teaching

English language teaching as a scientific body is composed of different components


such as phonetics, phonology, syntax, discourse, and pragmatics. This knowledge is presented
to teaching after being processed by noospheres, politicians, curriculum designer, educational
specialist, syllabus designers, school administrators, and teachers (Banegas, 2014). These
actors decide what is and what is not to be taught. In case of the teaching English as a
foreign/second language, it is TESOL (teaching English to speakers of other languages) that
decides what language content to be taught and what methodology to be used.
According to Gómez Mendoza (2005), the process of language transposition involves
four steps, which are as follows: desyncritisation, depersonalization, programmability, and
publicity. Desyncritisation involves removal of complexity and scientific context, and it
presents knowledge in a form of decontextualised segments. Depersonalization concerns the
deletion of science-generators and their context. For example, if students are given to perform
activities that exhibit the creativity nature of language, the Name of Chomsky and his
criticism of behaviourism theory will not appear in the taught knowledge. Programmability
refers to the process of sequencing and grading contents; for instance, EFL programmes
present language according to grammatical complexity. Publicity refers to how knowledge is
presented to the teacher in form of curriculum, syllabus, textbooks, and materials. These four
steps in knowledge vulgarization could be called external didactic transposition (Banegas,
2014). Internal transposition is carried out in the classroom by the teacher.

The teacher is given the synthesized and simplified instructional content, which
definitely needs further simplifications depending on classroom variables. The process of
classroom simplification of input could involve adapting textbooks, using different
explanation strategies, making use of teaching aids. For example, the teacher could use
drawings, charts, and tables to display data easily and more clearly to the learner.

5. Different Contexts of Knowledge in the Process of Transposition

The process of didactic transpositions represents two major steps: External and internal
stages that are shown in the figure below.

Process of didactic transposition (Banegas, 2014, p. 6)

The external process refers to any process of knowledge simplification and design outside the
school and the internal process denotes the procedures employed by the teacher inside the
classroom to make knowledge easy to acquire by the learner. The first circle from the left
refers to scholarly, for example, to schools of thought and their publications, the second one
refers to school syllabuses and textbooks, the third circle refers to the content that the teacher
manages to teach, and the final circles refers to the content that the students manages to
master or acquire. During this whole process, the scientific knowledge is simplified and in a
way distorted.

6. Disadvantage of the Didactic Transposition

Didactic transposition has its shortcomings. Chevellard (1988) argues that transposition
alters the form of knowledge, and this could create difficulties to the learner once he
genuinely faces up scientific knowledge. Similarly, Oh and Oh (2011) points out that
oversimplification of language could lead to incomplete understanding of the nature of
language system. For example, made up dialogues do not reflect authentic language use in
real life situations. Similarly,

7. Constraints of Didactic Transposition: Sarrmejane (2002) identified the following


constraints for rendering scholarly knowledge accurately in the classroom.

 Objectives: the objectives of teaching are rarely equal to the target scientific
knowledge
 Temporal: Scientific knowledge is not presented in its real time (occurrence)
 Spatial: Scientific knowledge is removed from its genuine spatial context
 Group constraint: Difficulty of teaching knowledge to various and large
groups
 Assessment: Difficulty of assessing authentically knowledge; made-up
situations and elements of phenomena are usually tested.

Conclusion

Scholarly knowledge is transformed, simplified, and adapted to make it accessible for students;
but this change does not alter the properties of knowledge. The latter is first coded in scientific fields,
and then it is decoded and recoded in academic spheres. Chevallard (1988) says we should be aware of
this process and the fact that taught knowledge has been altered. It is also a challenge to the teacher to
make scholarly knowledge accessible to students without deforming it. Chevellard holds that
transposition is compulsory, necessary, and regrettable and we should free ourselves from the didactic
knowledge.

Workshop for Didactic Transposition

Objective: By the end the workshop, the learner will understand the process of didactic
transposition, identify transposition techniques, and transpose knowledge for classroom use.

Task 1: Draw a table that lists the differences between scholarly and linguistic knowledge.

Task 2: Give examples of linguistic knowledge that is transposed to teaching knowledge.

Task 3: Give one example of pragmatic knowledge transposed into language teaching
knowledge.

Task 4: Think of a list of didactic transposition strategies that EFL teachers usually use in
their classrooms to make language accessible to their learners.
Lecture three: Didactic Triangle

Objective: By the end of the lecture, the student will be able to distinguish between the three
possible relations (teacher-knowledge, teacher-learner, and learner-knowledge) that mark a
teaching situation in a language classroom.

Introduction

Traditionally, the context of teaching is reduced to the dual relation between the teacher
and the learner. Then, the word used to describe this relation is referred to as pedagogy.
However, the work of some French-speaking writers (e.g., Houssaye, 1988; Chevellard, 1988)
on the didactic situations has come to stress another component of the classroom, namely,
content. Guigue (1998) notes that content is valuable to both the learner and the teacher and it
forms the basis for structuring and regulating teaching. Therefore, the move to the focus on
content as an object, rather than the psychological factor, places more importance on didactic
transposition (transformation and grading of knowledge). This change equally implies the
shift from the concept pedagogy (focus on psychological factors that regulate the teacher-
learner relation) to didactics (focus on content presentation, Ibid.).

1. Didactic Triangle

Houssaye (1988) depicts the didactic relations of the classroom in the didactic triangle.
The latter is composed of the three major elements of the classroom (i.e., content, teacher, and
learner). Content refers of knowledge that is to be transmitted, be it information, skills, or
attitudes; it presupposes neutrality and requires scientific representation procedures (Guigue,
1998). The teacher is the knower who presents knowledge directly or indirectly, that is,
through the transmission model or through making the process of transmission possible
(Ibid.). Besides, the teacher ought to show the intention to teach (Chevallard, 1988). The
learner is the recipient or the beneficiary of knowledge; he should equally show the intention
to learn (Chevallard, 1988; Guigue, 1998)

Additionally, the triangle highlights the three possible didactic relations of teacher-
content, teacher-learner, and learner-content. The relation of teacher-content refers to the
process of teaching; the relation teacher-learner designates training; and finally, the relation
learner-content denotes the process of learning.
The figure below illustrates the didactic triangle as presented by Houssaye (1988). The
three piques of the polygon represent the components of the classroom and the sides of the
polygon illustrate the didactic relations.

Knowledge

Teaching Learning

Teacher Training Learner

(Didactic Triangle, Houssay, 1988, p. 233)

The triangle above represents the different facets of a pedagogical act. This act is the
interaction between the three peaks of the triangle: knowledge, teacher, and learner. The sides
of the triangle represent the processes of teaching, training, or learning. In this theory, when
two peaks are emphasized, the third one plays the role of the dead or the fool, depending on
the circumstances. If for example we favor the relation teacher-knowledge (process of
didactic teaching), the learner plays the role of the dead. However, if the learner intervenes
and disrupts the process, then he/she is the fool. This representation of a teaching act shows
that there are only three possible relations in the classroom and only one could be used at a
time. However, there are possibilities of changing processes or shifting from one process to
another in the same lesson.

2. The relation teacher-knowledge

In the case of teacher-knowledge relation, the teacher has the role of structuring
knowledge, organizing, and presenting it according to the types of knowledge he/she thinks
are important or relevant. Besides, lecturing is usually the medium used to impart knowledge
to learners who are thought of as all the same, having the same learning styles, and possessing
the same cognitive capacities. Traditional teaching methods used to focus more on this
classroom process and to emphasize entirely contents and transmission.

3. The relationship teacher-learner

In this instance, the teacher establishes a warm relationship with his learners and uses
mainly indirect or inductive methods of teaching. The teacher directs them and instructs them
to do things to improve their learning. However, as Houssaye (1988) points out, knowledge is
not well-structured and comprehensible enough, and the learner may not be able to link
content to the general drive of the syllabus.

4. The relationship student-knowledge

This relationship represents students assuming the responsibility of their learning. They
nominate topics, negotiate learning targets, do tasks, and assess themselves. The pedagogy
applied in this case is constructivism or socio-constructivism. That is, learners interact with
tasks or among themselves to learn new knowledge or change their mental representations.
Houssaye (1988) defines learning as the acquirement of the new content and its link to
previous knowledge. The teacher paves the way and prepares the facilitative mechanisms that
allow each learner to work and learn at his/her own pace (Weisser, 2015). He defines the
characteristics of learning as follows (1988, p. 207, Weisser, 2015, pp. 20-21).

 Structuring information
 Introducing new knowledge in relation to the previous knowledge
 Retrieval of the teacher (intervening only one explicitly solicited)
 Varying information and teaching styles

The first relation exhibits didactic analysis or transposition, that is, the teacher looks
how to make knowledge teachable to his/her students. The second and the third relations
exhibit different pedagogies, rather than didactics. But, these three types of classroom
processes are complementary and reinforce each other. Their interplay is crucial for making
knowledge accessible and easily taught or permanently acquired by the learners. Neglect of
any of the relation explicated above would thwart the act of teaching.
5. Criticism

Didactic triangle is nowadays questioned because of the changes taking place in society.
The digital word alters the triangle which is situated within the frame of an institution (i.e.
school). Knowledge is now available everywhere; and, consequently, it is not the possession
of the knower. The internet is offering plenty of free accessible knowledge to the wide public;
what is needed, then, is the validation of that knowledge. Students learn outside the classroom
through different mediums and they are no longer entering school empty-handed. In short, the
circle of institution is shrinking and learning/teaching is taking place outside formal teaching
institutions.

Additionally, according to Guigue (1999), the didactic triangle overshadows the


temporal, spatial, and organizational factors as it focuses on the relations between the three
major poles of the classroom and their resulting teaching/learning models. Likewise, this
representation of the classroom neglects the social and psychological factors as it is based
merely on ways of presenting contents.

Workshop for the Didactic Triangle

Objective: By the end of the workshop, the student will be able to distinguish the key didactic
relations of a language classroom.

Task: Identify and give examples of pedagogical movements that exemplify the following
didactic relations: Teacher-knowledge, teacher-student, and student-knowledge
Lecture 4: Didactic Contract

Objective: By the end of the lecture, the student will be sensitized to the explicit and implicit
classroom rules that make up the pedagogical contract.

Introduction

Stella Baruk (1985) suggested a problem to pupils of primary school as follows: in a


ship there are 26 sheep and 10 goats, what’s the age of the captain? Among the 97 students,
76 gave an answer on the basis of the given numbers: 26+10= 36; thus, the captain is 36.
Actually, this absurd mathematical problem has no possible answer, yet the pupils worked out
an answer! Why, so?

Interpretation: The reasons why the learners attempted to give an answer are due to the
following rules of the didactic contract (Baruk, 1985).

a) Any problem posed by the teacher has an answer and a single answer
b) In order to arrive to an answer, all the given data should be used
c) No extra data is needed
d) The solution requires the items being taught
e) If there were a problem in the task, the teacher would point out to it

1. Epistemological Origins of Didactic Contract

The concept of didactic contract was formalised by Guy Brousseau (1997) who
remarked that certain learners fail to pass their math exams because they pay more attention to
the teacher’s expectations than to logic or target content (Sarrazay, 1995). Many students
believe that learning means repeating things or doing things as done by their teacher. To quote
an example given by Hausberger and Patras (2019), when asking a learner why adding
meaningless numbers in a math problem, they would say this is what the teacher asks us to do.

This notion of didactic contract coincided with the shift of paradigm from structural to
student centered teaching and interactional approach in the 1970s (Sarrazay, 1995). Goffman
(1974) identified the shared rules that bind people in social interaction and called them frames
(Ibid.). These frames are a kind of situations that are replicated in different contexts
(Hausberger and Patras, 2019), and they resemble a contract (mutual understanding and
agreement) about how to run conversations. The language classroom is no different; it has its
protocols, and the teacher and the learner understand and use them harmoniously. The frame
of ‘school questioning’, for example, is very different from the frame of ‘asking a question’ in
a non-didactic situation: in the latter, the person who asks normally does not know the
answer! A child who comes to school the first time may be quite astonished that the teacher is
asking questions for which he/she has answers! When the child accepts this strange situation
as normal, he/she has already understood the frame and has become aware of the existence of
a given didactic contract that binds him/her with the teacher.

2. Didactic Contract: Definition

Brousseau (2006) defines the didactic contract as follows:

A didactic contract is the relationship which determines—explicitly to some extent, but


mainly implicitly—what each partner, the teacher and the student, will have the
responsibility for managing and, in some way or other, be responsible to the other
person. This system of reciprocal obligation resembles a contract. (Brousseau, 2006, p.
31-32)

As entailed in the above definition, the teacher and the learner have to respect certain covert
and overt classroom rules with regard to each other. In other words, the learner has certain
expectations from the teacher in connection with content and the learner has equally certain
prospects from the learner concerning content. For example, the teacher expects the learner to
listen and display learning intentions while explaining the content and the learner expects the
teacher to explain clearly new knowledge and make it accessible to them.

3. Rules of the Didactic Contract

As stated in the definition of the didactic contract, the rules can be explicit or implicit.
Explicit rules are set up by the teacher; it is, for instance, when the teacher gives instructions
on how to answer a question. Implicit rules, on the other hand, are a form of expectations. For
instance, learners expect to solve in exam time questions they are used to during the teaching
process. Below are some examples of the rules of the didactic contract given by Brousseau
(2006).

• The teacher is supposed to create sufficient conditions for the appropriation of knowledge
and must “recognize” this appropriation when it occurs.

• The student is supposed to be able to satisfy these conditions.


• The didactical relationship must “continue” at all costs.

• The teacher therefore assumes that earlier learning and the new conditions provide the
student with the possibility of new learning. (Brousseau, 2006, p. 31-32)

If the above rules are not respected, learning cannot take place; consequently, both the teacher
and the learner assume the responsibility for not having fulfilled their respective duties.
Brousseau (1988) adds that it is impossible to define these rules explicitly, but we come to
know them when they are violated.

It goes without saying that didactic contract is linked to content or the kind of content
that determines the nature of relationships or agreement. If the rules are not related to content,
then they could be considered simply as pedagogical contract (classroom management).
Didactic contract, consequently, refers to the rules observed by the learner and the teacher in
leaning/teaching content.

4. The Role of the Teacher in the Didactic Contract

The teacher has to set up an approach of teaching and instructing in a way to make the
ways of doing tasks and answering questions clear for the learner. Brousseau (2006)
recommends for teachers, for example, to consider the following caveats to assist learners
answer questions: “how to answer with the help of previous knowledge, how to understand
and build knowledge, how to “apply” previous lessons, how to recognize questions, how to
learn, guess, solve, etc” (p.35). Indeed, the learner must be able to answer the question if he
has already acquired the target knowledge. For example, if the instruction in the question is
new to the learner, the teacher has, then, to provide an example that the learner can follow to
complete the rest.

5. Value of the Didactic Contract

It saves time for the teacher in explaining what he/she wants the students to do. The
teacher leads the students to learn without telling them all.

6. Violation of the Didactic Contract

Introducing new learning items constitute the major violation of the didactic contract.
Novel contents are sometimes conflicting with the old learning. For example, in language
classes, students are taught that adverbs of frequency are used with the present simple, but
later they are shown that they could occur with the past simple. However, the violation of the
contract is necessary as it leads to its adjustments and reminding the two parties (teacher and
learner) of the contract that bonds them (Brousseau, 2010).

7. Disadvantages of Didactic Contract

Brousseau (2010) cited the following limitations of the didactic contract (pp. 7-8).

a) Jourdain effect: An ordinary behavior of the learner is interpreted as a sign of acquisition


of knowledge.

b) Topaze effect: When the learner encounters difficulties in solving a problem, the teacher
gives assistance that he strips the activity from its intended purpose.

d) Risk of focus on the cognitive domain: Teachers sometimes tend to give more importance
to the cognitive process of problem-solving at the expense of genuine learning.

e) Abusive use of analogy: Explanations are usually carried out through analogies, but excess
of use of analogy restricts the understanding of the target concept.

8. The Paradox of Didactic Contract

The students expect the teacher to show them how to solve the problem at hand and if
the teacher does, the students are not learning what is meant for them to learn (Brousseau,
2010). That is, the teacher is doing for them the task, and the students do not choose the right
strategies to solve the problem. How could this problem be possibly solved? The teacher
must make adaptations to the task in a way that could to lead to learn the target content
without much help from the teacher.

Conclusion

The didactic contract allows conducting smoothly teaching/learning in the classroom


without spelling out most of its rules. Teachers usually set up explicit rules in the classroom
about how to do some activities and to approach content or to apply it, but teachers and
students equally comply to certain implicit rules while dealing with contents of
teaching/learning. However, teachers should be sensitized to these explicit and mainly
implicit rules of the didactic contract. If a teacher violates unconsciously the rules of the
didactic contract, this will impair the process of learning. The teachers also should help those
students who are not quite familiar with the tacit rules of the didactic contract to avoid
misunderstandings and the student eventual failure in the process of learning another
language.

Workshop for the Didactic Contract

Objective: By the end of the workshop, the student will be able identify explicit and implicit
rules of the didactic contract observed by the teacher and the learner with regards to certain
contents.
Task 1: Write down a list of explicit rules that the teacher instructs learners to observe while
implementing a particular task.
Task 2: Read the following activities and find out the implicit rules that the learner should
abide by to implement them.
a) Turn the following sentence from active to passive (John ate an apple)
b) Write about the most memorable event you have ever lived.
Task 3: Write down a list in which you include students’ expectation of their teachers with
regards to content.
Lecture Five: The Constituents of a Language Classroom

Objective: By the end of the lecture the learner will be able to distinguish the roles of each of
the fundamental constituent parameters of a language classroom.

Introduction

A language classroom is made up of a set of indispensible parameters that any teacher


should understand. These constituent parameters include knowledge, agent (learner and
teacher), learning objectives, teaching, logic, didactic materials, learning activities, and
assessment.

1. Knowledge/ Content

In any language classroom, there is a certain type of knowledge or content that is


defined implicitly or explicitly. The content can be presented in syllabus documents or in the
textbook or in any other form of materials. According to Richards and Rodgers (2001), the
content of a language classroom refers to grammar/lexis, socio-cultural knowledge, discourse
knowledge, and pragmatic knowledge. All these components of content could be simplified as
the ability to communicate.

2. Agents

The actors of a language classroom are the teacher and the learner. The teacher’s role is
to impart or inculcate a certain knowledge or capacity to the learner. Recently, the role of the
teacher has become more and more demanding. He has to conduct needs analysis, present the
learning activities, and monitor the learning process (Breen & Candlin, 1980). This means the
teacher’s role is no longer knowledge transmission. Chevallard (1988) consider the role of the
teacher as primarily directed towards knowledge transposition, that is, making content
accessible to learners.

The learner’s role has equally changed. He is no longer the passive recipient; rather,
he/she assumes the responsibility of his learning through executing individually or in
collaboration the tasks presented by the teacher, negotiating topics and contents, and assessing
himself/herself (Breen & Candlin, 1980).
3. Teaching

Teaching is a fundamental constituent of a language classroom. This classroom practice


could be carried out directly in what is called direct methods such as GTM and SLT or
indirectly. Indirect methods of teaching give more freedom to the learner to select content,
discover rules and procedures and assess learning outcomes. Therefore, teaching is translated
as learning.

4. Method or Approach of Teaching/Learning

A teaching method or approach is always executed in a language classroom even if the


teacher adheres to eclectic teaching. A method or approach refers to the way teaching contents
are presented and taught in the language classroom. Richards and Rodgers (2001) identify the
following constituents of the concept method: language and learning theory, syllabus
(objectives and skills), role of the teacher and learner, learning activities, instructional
materials, and classroom techniques and procedures. Consequently, for example, any method
defines which language skills that should be targeted and which materials could be optimally
used to develop language proficiency.

5. Didactic Materials

Didactic materials are part of a language classroom. As mentioned above, any method
defines the type of teaching materials that can be used in the classroom. For examples, ALM
focuses on the use of language laboratories and SLT gives more importance to the use of
realia. Didactic materials could include the following elements: pictures, stick figures, flash
cards, realia, the internet, printed materials (i.e., handouts and textbooks), and audio-
materials.

6. Learning Activities

Learning activities are tasks and exercise that the teacher presents orally or in writing to
the learner. The nature of activities has changed throughout the history of foreign language
teaching methods. For example, earlier methods such GTM used repetitions, translation, and
rote learning while more recent activities are more geared towards the use of authentic real
life activities such as discussions and problem-solving situations (Brown, 2006). Likewise,
Roegiers (2010) distinguishes learning activities into two types: learning activities and
authentic activities. Accordingly, learning activities are simply used to inculcate and practice
new contents while complex activities are used to apply knowledge meaningfully.

7. Assessment

Assessment has a significant interface with teaching. It is an on-going process that


encompasses a large domain. Whenever a student tries out a new structure, gives a response to
a question, or offers a comment, the teacher subconsciously assesses the student (Brown,
2010). The teacher never ceases to assess learners during the learning process, whether those
assessments are intended or incidental.

Roegiers (2010) distinguishes between three types of assessment: diagnosing


assessment, process assessment, and summative assessment. Diagnosing assessment occurs at
the onset of the course with the aim of identifying the starting level of the learner; process
assessment happens during the process of learning with the aim of informing the learning
process and engineering new contents (De Ketele, 2010); and summative assessment takes
place at the end of a term, year, or grade with the aim of validating knowledge acquisition
(Roegiers, 2010). It could be said, then, that diagnosing assessment is meant to tailor the
content to students’ needs; process assessment is carried out to inform the learning process;
and summative assessment is implemented to make-decisions.

8. Constituent of a Language Classroom and Different Approaches to Learning

The ways classroom components are viewed in language teaching approaches differ
from one educational movement to another. The table below sums up the major differences in
the conceptions of language teaching approaches in different language teaching approaches
and methods.

Aspects Traditional Behavioral Socio-constructivist


Knowledge - End - Object - Resource
- Accumulation - Application - Use
- Savoir - Savoir-faire - Savoir-agir
(content)
Learner - Recipient - Respondent - Actor

Teacher - Disperser - Coach - Guide


Teaching - Subject - Attainment of - Develop
coverage objectives competencies
- Knowledge - Procedures - Tasks
Method - Accumulation - Organization - Integration
Didactic - Linear - Arboreal - Homographic
materials
Learning - Note-taking - Exercises - Projects
activities - Problem-solving
- Case studies
Assessment - Reciting - Tests - Complex situations

Conceptions of the Constituents of the Language Classroom in Language Teaching


Movements

As can be seen in the table above, the conception of the components of the language
classroom has completely evolved from one teaching paradigm to another. For example, the
leaning activities in the transmission mode of teaching have developed from simple note-
taking, to practice exercises, and finally to projects realization.

Conclusion

Whatever is the teaching method/approach applied in the classroom, the following


didactic components of the language classroom (discussed above) should be defined explicitly
or implicitly:

Content: language skills, grammar lexis, socio-cultural knowledge, discourse knowledge and
pragmatic knowledge.

Classroom agents: the role of the learner and the role of teacher

Teaching: The model of teaching applied (e.g., transmission or experiential)

Method/approach: The way content is presented

Didactic materials: The materials that could facilitate the learning of input such audio/video
materials
Learning activities: The type of activities used for acquiring and practicing new contents
(e.g. exercises and tasks)

Assessment methods: The type of assessment methods used for assessing learning outcomes
or objectives (e.g. portfolios, diaries, self/peer-assessment, or tests)

Workshop for the Constituent Parameters of a Language Classroom

Objective: By the end of the workshop, the student will be able to identify each of the
constituents of the language classroom concretely for any given language teaching
method/approach.

Task: Select one of the following language teaching methods: GTM, DM, ALM, SLT, or
CLT; and identify in detail the way it views each of the following fundamental parameters of
a language classroom: Content, classroom agents, teaching, method/approach, didactic
materials, learning activities, assessment methods.

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