“Why can’t Johnny write? He sounds okay!” Attending to form in English second language teaching
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Date
2010
Authors
Ayliff, Diana
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Faculty of Education, University of the Free State
Abstract
This article addresses the problem of poor written English amongst many South African learners who
study English as their First Additional Language (FAL) at secondary school level, and the effect this
has on their tertiary education and their future careers. The reasons for this poor mastery of written
discourse are explored and, in particular, it is argued that the problems that have arisen are because of
the communicative meaning-focused approach that has been the raison d’être of the second language
syllabi for many years. This approach has also underpinned the OBE curriculum for English as FAL. An
alternative method, in which the form of the language is focused upon, is explored and it is argued that
this methodology would be a more successful one for South African learners and go a long way to solving
the problem of the poor standard of English of matriculants.
Description
Keywords
English second language, Communicative language teaching, Form-focused instruction
Citation
Ayliff, D. (2010). ‘Why can't Johnny write? He sounds okay!’Attending to form in English second language teaching. Perspectives in Education, 28(2), 1-8.