An Emergent Language Program Framework

The paper “an emergent language program framework: actively involving learners in needs analysis” by William savage and Graeme storer was written as an assessment in creating a framework for language teaching and learning. The subject learning program was designed to enable employees of an aquaculture project in Thailand. The purpose of the study was to identify a new framework that would incorporate the learners’ input in analyzing the needs and designing the program content. In the end, the authors of the paper prove that an effective language program can source its content from the learners.

In the introduction, the paper details the importance of learning English in the work environment that the learners work in. when developing the program, the authors had to understand the need for the English language by the learners; the content areas that the learning program needed to focus on; the material and work environment that the program could harness to improve the ability to use English at work. The organization had specific reasons behind the decision for the employees to learn English; however, the purposes were not consistent with the content generated by needs analysis as used in English for Special Purposes (ESP) literature. The purpose of developing the program by William and Graeme was to incorporate active participation of learners in the program design; the authors of the paper were unsure on the way forward in developing that program; hence they carried out an exercise as described in the paper.

To develop the program, the developers adopted an approach that evolved from the first step through meetings, planning, and learners’ participation in the language program. After they had developed a framework and the content, William and Graeme reviewed the relevant literature to enable them to place the language program they had developed in the general context of language learning and specifically the ESP field. Therefore, the paper details the authors’ experiences working with learners in a novel language program.

The program development was funded by the Overseas Development Agency of the United Kingdom on behalf of the Aquaculture Outreach Project of the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Udornthanin. The outreach project aims to conduct an interdisciplinary study on freshwater farming and aquaculture as undertaken in small-scale farming. The project was tasked to find aquaculture strategies that can be sustained readily available inputs; information on fish-farming activities is generated through a methodological flow of information. Therefore, the language needs to communicate necessitated a language plan for the project staff in the Udornthanin main office and two suboffices in other northeastern provinces. Some of the reasons for learning English were motivated by the fact that the funding firm is from the UK, an English-speaking region; the need to access research information also pushed the need to learn English because the data collected in the field is reported and analyzed in English.

The first step in the development was the framework; the participants in the framework were required to perform assigned tasks, report back, expand and evaluate. The teacher’s job in the framework was to observe and assist the participants in case they were stuck. The teacher’s goal is to comprehend the learning needs of the participants as they work through the tasks.

Working on tasks

When working on tasks, the program diverted from the tasks described in Language Learning Tasks by Candlin and Murphy (1987); essentially, the tasks the participants worked on were sourced from real work situations requiring learners to use English to communicate effectively. According to Corder (1981; in Larsen-Freeman and Long, 1991: p. 41), tasks that are derived from actual work are suitable in determining the learning needs; the tasks give the teacher a chance to establish “the rules [the learner] is using and the systems and categories he is working with.” To set up the first task correctly, the learners were paired with counterparts to assist them.

Reporting back

In a report back session, the learners were supposed to share information on their tasks and learn what they had done. According to Hall and Kenny (1988), the report back session attempts to narrow down a broad and monotonous project into manageable and exciting activities for the learners.

Expanding

During the report back, the teachers expanded the learners’ requirements in the report back; this was designed to increase the ability of the learners to deal with contents of a task at a more challenging level using English slightly beyond the level of the learners. Completing the task shows the learners linguistic abilities in English. According to (Hall and Kenny, 1988: p. 22), learning should involve a students’ plan to explore additional sources of information to refine the learning topic; in this case, it is ESP. Widdowson (1978) formulates expansion of language in a sequence of generalization, clarification, elaboration, and exemplification of content; however, the language plan developed by William and Graeme definition of expansion is that it occurs when the need for expanded content arises; it embodies the structural representation of language.

Evaluating

Rea (1987) terms evaluation as a regular and continuous process; evaluation of the program’s efficacy is integral to the successful teaching of the English language. The main question in this stage is to ask the learners how they accomplished a particular task and how the task can be improved to be more efficient in the emergent language program.

References

Candlin, C. N. and Murphy, D. F. (1987) Language Learning Tasks. London: Prentice-Hall

Corder, S. (1981) Error Analysis and Interlanguage. Oxford: Oxford University Press

Hall, D. & Kenny, B. (1988) An approach to a truly communicative methodology: the AIT pre-sessional course. English for Specific Purposes 7, 19-32

Rea, P. (1987) Communicative curriculum validation: a task-based approach. In Candlin, C. N. and Murphy, D. F. (eds) Language Learning Tasks pp. 5-22. London: Prentice-Hall.

Savage, W., & Storer, G. (1992). An emergent language program framework: Actively involving learners in needs analysis. System, 20(2), 187-199.