The document outlines approaches for designing a language course focused on listening and speaking, emphasizing the importance of input and output conditions for effective language acquisition. It highlights that learners should primarily engage with familiar language to facilitate understanding, while also processing new features intentionally with ample opportunities for practice. Additionally, it discusses balancing the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing) and the significance of fluency and accuracy in language learning.

1. APPROACHES TO A LANGUAGE
COURSE DESIGN
Parts and Goals of a Listening and Speaking
Course.
Nation, I.S.P., & Newton (2009)
Marham Jupri Hadi & Adam Vose
School of Education
Faculty of Social Sciences
Wednesday, 9 April 2014

2. IN THIS CHAPTER…
A Language course is set to meet the ultimate learner aims in L2 learning:
to achieve fluent control of the sounds, spelling, vocabulary, grammar and discourse
features of the language, so that they can be used to communicate effectively

3. Meaning-focused OUTPUT
…..through speaking & Writing
(Productive)

4. …CONDITIONS to meet by
each strand (INPUT)
1. Most of what the learners are listening to or reading is already
familiar to them.
2. The learners are interested in the input and want to understand it.
3. Only a small proportion of the language features are unknown to
the learners. In terms of vocabulary, 95 percent to 98 percent of the
running words should be within the learners’ previous knowledge,
and so only five or preferably only one or two words per hundred
should be unknown to them (Hu and Nation, 2000).
4. The learners can gain some knowledge of the unknown language
items through context clues and background knowledge.
5. There are large quantities of input.

5. …CONDITIONS to meet by
each strand (OUTPUT)
1. The learners write and talk about things that are largely familiar
to them. The learners’ main goal is to convey their message to
someone else.
2. Only a small proportion of the language they need to use is not
familiar to them.
3. The learners can use communication strategies, dictionaries, or
previous input to make up for gaps in their productive
knowledge.
4. There are plenty of opportunities to produce.

6. …CONDITIONS to meet by
each strand (LANGUAGE
LEARNING)
1. The learners give deliberate attention to language features.
2. The learners should process the language features in deep and
thoughtful ways.
3. There should be opportunities to give spaced, repeated attention
to the same features.
4. The features which are focused on should be simple and not
dependent on developmental knowledge that the learners do not
have.
5. Features which are studied in the language-focused learning
strand should also occur often in the other three strands of the
course.

7. …CONDITIONS to meet by
each strand (FLUENCY)
1. All of what the learners are listening to, reading, speaking or
writing is largely familiar to them. That is, there are no
unfamiliar language features, or largely unfamiliar content or
discourse features.
2. The learners’ focus is on receiving or conveying meaning.
3. There is some pressure or encouragement to perform at a faster
than usual speed.
4. There is a large amount of input or output.

8. ACTIVITIES IN EACH STRAND
Meaning-focused input:
Extensive reading, shared reading, listening to stories,
watching TV or films, and being a listener in a conversation
Meaning-focused output:
Talking in conversations, giving a speech or lecture, writing a
letter writing a note to someone, keeping a diary, telling a story,
and telling someone how to do something.
Language-focused learning:
Pronunciation practice, using substitution tables and drills,
learning vocabulary from word cards, intensive reading,
translation, memorizing dialogues, and getting feedback about
writing and guessing from context or dictionary.
Fluency development:
Speed reading, skimming and scanning, repeated reading, 4/3/2,
repeated retelling, ten-minute writing, and listening to easy
stories. Memorizing words, word groups, phrases and sentences.

9. Nation and Newton (2009)…
an EFL/ ESL language instructor should design a
well balanced course enabling the learners to be
competent at the four language skills (listening,
speaking, reading and writing) and to be as fluent
and accurate as possible in using them
Allocate 25 % time of the course
length for each strand

10. How would you balance or integrate
the four strands?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRQIDMCjS9c

11. CRITICAL QUESTIONS
•In the context of the video, do you think that there is enough
opportunity for each of the four stands?
•Do you agree or disagree that the four strands should be
balanced in terms of time allotment? How do teachers provide
enough time if there is an arbitrary time allocation?

12. CRITICAL QUESTIONS
•How would you balance the four strands if you have limited
time? (If you need more time for one of the four strands, what
are you going to do?)
•How would you balance between giving input through listening
and reading? How would you balance output through speaking
and writing?

13. CRITICAL QUESTIONS
•How would you provide an interesting discourse that is familiar to
all learners in the course? Was Rolf’s story interesting to the class?
•Learning through output provides opportunities for gaps in learner
knowledge, how does a teacher support this opportunity?

14. https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/knowledge-database/dictogloss
http://eslcarissa.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/5-fun-ways-to-use-dictagloss-in-
efl.html?m=1
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dictogloss
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/3585481?uid=3737496&uid=2460338655&
uid=2460338415&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&uid=83&uid=63&sid=2110
3864663743
http://www.do2learn.com/picturecards/howtouse/story.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OzLgT8CnsI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRQIDMCjS9c

15. Nation, I.S.P., & Newton, J. (2009). Teaching ESL/EFL
Speaking and Listening. Routledge, New York.
www.google.com.au/images
References and images