FUNCTIONAL-NOTIONAL APPROACH
Summary
TLDRRainis As discusses the functional notional approach to language teaching, highlighting its history starting with David Wilkins' work in the 1970s. This approach focuses on communicative functions and notions, organizing language teaching around these concepts. It emphasizes learner-centered language use, authentic assessment, and five functional categories: personal, interpersonal, directive, referential, and imaginative. The method aims to teach language as a communicative tool rather than a set of grammar rules.
Takeaways
- 📚 The functional notional approach was pioneered by British linguist David Wilkins in 1972, advocating a shift from traditional grammar and vocabulary to communicative meanings.
- 🌐 Wilkins' work influenced the Council of Europe's communicative language syllabus, focusing on the functions necessary for effective communication.
- 📚 The approach categorizes language based on notions (concepts or ideas) and functions (communicative acts like requests, offers, apologies).
- 🗣️ Notions can be specific (like 'dog') or general (like 'time'), and are influenced by the function, elements in the situation, and the topic.
- 🎯 Functions are communicative acts such as suggesting, promising, apologizing, and inviting, which are expressed through various language forms.
- 🏞️ Situations encompass elements like participants, place, time, and the topic of conversation, affecting language variation.
- 💬 Exponents are utterances that express a function, situation, or topic, and can vary in formality and mode of expression.
- 🔠 The 'code' refers to the shared language of a community, with 'code switching' being the change in language during a speech act.
- 📊 The functional notional approach is assessed through authentic assessment, focusing on students' application of language in real-life contexts.
- 🔑 It emphasizes a learner-centered view, authentic language use, and focuses on the communicative purposes of speech and the functions of language in daily life.
- 🔍 Criticisms include the difficulty in ordering functions, the wide range of grammatical structures needed, and challenges at higher levels of language learning.
Q & A
Who is credited with proposing the functional notional approach to language learning?
-British linguist David Wilkins is credited with proposing the functional notional approach to language learning.
In what year did David Wilkins publish the document that initiated the functional notional approach?
-David Wilkins published the document that initiated the functional notional approach in 1972.
What was the main idea behind the document published by David Wilkins in 1972?
-The main idea was to shift away from traditional grammar and vocabulary and focus on communicative meanings for language learners.
How did the Council of Europe utilize Wilkins' work in language learning?
-The Council of Europe used Wilkins' work to draw up a communicative language syllabus specifying the communicative functions learners need for effective communication.
What is the primary focus of the functional notional approach to language teaching?
-The primary focus is on organizing a language syllabus based on communicative situations and breaking down the global concept of language into units of analysis.
Define the term 'notion' in the context of the functional notional approach.
-A 'notion' is a meaning element that may be expressed through various parts of speech and can be specific or general, often overlapping with the concept of topics.
What is a 'function' in the functional notional approach?
-A 'function' is a communicative act, which is the use of language to achieve a purpose, such as making requests, suggesting, promising, apologizing, and inviting.
How does the 'situation' element influence language use in the functional notional approach?
-The 'situation' element affects variations of language such as the use of dialects, formality or informality, and the mode of expression, including who is involved, the place, time, and the topic or activity being discussed.
What are 'exponents' in the context of the functional notional approach?
-Exponents are language utterances or statements that stem from the function, situation, and topic, forming the language forms speakers use to express messages or indicate social roles and formality.
What is 'code' in the functional notional approach?
-'Code' refers to the shared language of a community of speakers, and it can involve code switching, which is a change or switch in code during the speech act.
How is the functional notional approach assessed?
-It is best assessed using authentic assessment, where students are evaluated on how they apply the language and show functions in their written and oral outputs.
What are the five functional categories of language mentioned in the script?
-The five functional categories of language are personal, interpersonal, directive, referential, and imaginative.
What is the criticism regarding the order of presentation in the functional notional approach?
-One criticism is the difficulty in deciding the order in which different functions should be presented, as well as the wide range of grammatical structures needed for basic functions at different levels of formality.
What are the advantages of the functional notional approach according to the script?
-The advantages include communicatively useful expressions, a focus on communication, and suitability for beginners, emphasizing the communicative purpose of speech based on meaningful behavior in context.
Outlines
📚 Introduction to Functional Notional Approach
The paragraph introduces the functional notional approach to language teaching, highlighting its origin and development. It begins with the historical context set by British linguist David Wilkins in 1972, who proposed a shift from traditional grammar and vocabulary to communicative meanings. Wilkins' 1976 work, 'Notional Syllabuses,' categorized language based on notions and functions, influencing the Council of Europe's communicative language syllabus. The first course books based on functional syllabuses appeared in the late 1970s, focusing on communicative functions and the language needed to express them. The approach emphasizes breaking down language into units based on communicative situations. Key terms like 'notion,' 'function,' 'situation,' and 'exponents' are introduced, explaining their roles in language learning and teaching.
🌐 Functional Categories and Language Variations
This paragraph delves into the functional categories of language and how language variations occur due to factors like dialects, formality, and context. It discusses the functional notional approach's emphasis on communicative purposes of speech, learner-centered language learning, and authentic language use. The paragraph outlines five functional categories: personal, interpersonal, directive, referential, and imaginative. Each category is explained with examples of how they are used in communication. The concept of 'code' and 'code switching' is also introduced, illustrating how speakers adapt their language within a community. The paragraph concludes with a discussion on the assessment of the functional emotional approach, emphasizing authentic assessment over traditional testing methods.
🔍 Criticism and Advantages of the Functional Notional Approach
The final paragraph addresses the criticisms and advantages of the functional notional approach to language teaching. It points out the challenges in determining the order of presenting different functions and the complexity of managing a wide range of grammatical structures for various levels of formality. It also mentions the potential frustration for learners accustomed to a more structured, analytical approach. However, the paragraph highlights the approach's strengths, including its focus on communicatively useful expressions, its suitability for beginners, and its emphasis on the communicative purpose of speech. The functional notional approach is praised for its learner-centered view and its ability to help teachers identify and analyze learners' needs to create effective syllabuses.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Functional Notional Approach
💡Communicative Language Syllabus
💡Notions
💡Functions
💡Situations
💡Exponents
💡Code
💡Authentic Assessment
💡Functional Grammar
💡Criticisms of Functional Notional Approach
💡Advantages of Functional Notional Approach
Highlights
Introduction to the functional notional approach in language teaching, emphasizing communicative meanings over traditional grammar and vocabulary.
Historical background of the functional notional approach, starting with David Wilkins' 1972 document proposing a shift in language description.
Wilkins' 1976 work 'Notional Syllabuses' categorizes language based on notions and functions for effective communication.
The influence of Wilkins' work on the Council of Europe's communicative language syllabus.
Emergence of course books based on functional syllabuses in the late 1970s, organized by communicative functions.
Definition of 'notion' as meaning elements expressed through various parts of speech, ranging from specific to general concepts.
Explanation of how specific notions depend on function, elements in the situation, and the topic of discussion.
Function defined as a communicative act, such as making requests, promises, or apologies.
Situation's impact on language variation, including formality and mode of expression.
Exponents as language utterances that stem from functions, situations, and topics, with examples of varying politeness levels.
Code switching as a change in language code during speech, with examples.
Assessment in the functional notional approach, focusing on authentic assessment of language application.
Characteristics of the functional notional approach, including a learner-centered view and authentic language use.
Functional categories of language, including personal, interpersonal, directive, referential, and imaginative.
Functional grammar as a pattern of language use based on communicative functions, emphasizing language as a resource.
Criticism of the functional notional approach, such as the difficulty in ordering functions and the need for a wide range of grammatical structures.
Advantages of the functional notional approach, like its focus on communicative usefulness and suitability for beginners.
Conclusion of the discussion, summarizing the functional notional approach's emphasis on communicative purposes and learner needs.
Transcripts
good day everyone my name is rainis as
the second filipino first presenter
under the functional notional approach
let's start the discussion by
reminiscing its history
in 1972 the british linguist david
wilkins published a document that
proposed a radical shift away from using
the traditional concepts of grammar
vocabulary to describe language to an
analysis of the communicative meanings
that learners would need in order to
express themselves and to understand
effectively
this initial document was followed by
his 1976 work notional syllabuses which
showed how language could be categorized
on the basis of notions such as quantity
vocation and time and functions such as
making requests
making offers and apologizing
wilkins work was used by the council of
europe in drawing up a communicative
language syllabus which specified the
communicative functions a learner would
need in order to communicate effectively
at a given level of competence
at the end of the 1970s
the first course books to be based on
functional syllabuses began to appear
typically they would be organized on the
basis of individual functions and the
exponents needed to express these
functions
this method of language teaching is
categorized along with others under the
rubric of a communicative approach the
method stresses a means of organizing a
language syllabus
the emphasis is on breaking down the
global concept of language into units of
analysis in terms of communicative
situations in which they are used
let us proceed to the specific terms the
first on the list is notion
notion are meaning elements that may be
expressed through nouns pronouns
verbs prepositions conjunctions
adjectives or adverbs
a notion is a concept or idea it may be
quite specific in which case it is
virtually the same as vocabulary like
for example dog
house or it may be very general like
time
size emotion or movement in which it
often overlaps with the concept of
topics
example in ocean the notion of time and
the notion of place
i would like to invite your son to come
to my club for lunch and saturday
specific notions depend on three major
factors the function the elements in the
situation and the topic which is being
discussed
also this may include past tenses
phrases like a month ago
last week and utterances using temporal
clauses beginning with when
before
after and so on
example 4 when
when you leave please close the door
after
after i had said those words he went out
next function functionism kind of
communicative act
it is the use of language to achieve a
purpose
example should be suggesting
promising apologizing greeting and
inviting phrases may include like in
suggesting
i suggest you should stop engaging
yourself with him before it's too late
in inviting
would you like to take a walk with me
near the shore
next situation
situation may affect variations of
language such as the use of dialects the
formality or informality of the language
and the mode of expression situation
includes the following elements a the
persons taking part in the speeched act
b the place where the conversation
occurs
c the time the speech act is taking
place
nd the topic or activity that is being
discussed
next exponents
exponents are the language utterances or
statements that stem from the function
the situation and the topic
their language forms the speaker uses to
express a message or indicate social
roles formality and formality
possible exponents in one example
please open the window
open the window please
would you open the window
would you mind opening the window
i wonder if you would mind opening the
window
also variations of language result from
dialects informality
formality
mode and wishes
next
code
code is the shared language of a
community of speakers like us we are
sharing the same language which is
messiah
or does anybody hear speaks different
language aside from our vernacular
that's when the code switching goes in
code switching is a change or switch in
code during the speech tag
examples may include
i am here now or like
here in alango
the functional emotional approach is
best assessed using authentic assessment
wherein students are assessed and how
they apply the language
how they illicit or show functions in
their written and oral outputs
characteristics of functional emotional
approach
the functional notional approach to
language learning places major emphasis
on the communicative purposes of speech
or in speaking skill that is what people
want to do or accomplish through speech
first focusing on doing something
through a language
next learner-centered view of language
learning
third involving authentic language use
testing focused on the ability to use
language to react and operate on the
environment or authentic assessment
at this moment
let us dive in to the functional
categories of language which is five
headings
first is personal
personal is clarifying or arranging
one's ideas it may be expressing one's
thoughts or feelings
love
pleasure surprise satisfaction
disappointment pain
anger frustration and so on or the
everyday feeling of hunger
thirst
sleepiness and
warmth
second is
interpersonal
interpersonal enable us to establish and
maintain desirable social and working
relationships
like greetings and live teachings
introducing people to others
identifying oneself to others
expressing joy at another success
expressing concern for others people's
welfare
extending and accepting invitation
refusing invitations politely or making
alternative arrangements
making appointments for meetings
third is
directive
directive attempt to influence the
action of others accepting or refusing
directions like making suggestions in
which the speaker is included
persuading someone to change his point
of view
requesting and granting permission
asking for help and responding to a plea
for help
forbidding someone to do something
giving and responding to instructions
and even warning someone
fourth is referential
referential is talking or reporting
about things
actions events or people in the
environment in the past or in the future
talking about language
like identifying items or people in the
classroom school home
or in the community
asking for a description of someone or
something
defining something or a language item or
asking for a definition
or even comparing or contrasting things
and lastly imaginative
imaginative discussions involving
elements of creativity and artistic
expressions like discussing a poem a
story a piece of music a play a painting
a film
a tv program or etc or even creating
rhymes poetry stories or plays
functional grammar a grammar which puts
together the pattern of the language and
the things you can do with them is
called a functional grammar
it is based on the relation between the
structure by language and the various
function that the language performs
functional grammar is all about language
use
it's about communicative grammar that
learners can use in the typical
situation that they find themselves as
they go about their daily lives moreover
it's an approach in which grammar is not
seen as a set of rules
but rather a communicative resource
the main objective of a functional
grammar is to explain language in terms
of what people do with it how they use
the language to live
it tries to do that by adopting more of
a semantic and pragmatic orientation
inside the grammar it does not see
pragmatics and semantics as extra levels
of organization but sees them as
integral to the organization of the
grammar
criticism of functional notional
approach is first order
criticism of functional approaches
include the difficulty in deciding the
order in which different functions
should be presented another problem lies
in the wide range of grammatical
structures needed to manipulate basic
functions at different levels of
formality
second no structures syllabus
there is also the apparently random
nature of the language use
which may frustrate learners used to the
more analytical and building block
approach that our grammatical syllabus
can offer another apparent weakness is
the question of what to do at higher
levels
the advantages of functional notional
approach is first communicatively useful
expressions
second focus and communication
third suitable to beginners
a functional approach emphasizes
communicative purpose of speech based on
the following premises
first communication is meaningful
behavior in context that requires
language use rather than contrived
sentence building
second language is constructed around
language functions and notions
third in teaching language the
functional notional approach to language
helps the teacher to identify the needs
of the learners and analyze the needs in
order to draw the syllabus
and that's all for today's discussion
thank you for listening have a nice day
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