Communicative Approaches For Ancient Languages

This book is the first in its field. It showcases current and emerging communicative practices in the teaching and learning of ancient languages (Latin and Greek) across contemporary education in the US, the UK, South America and continental Europe. In all these parts of the globe, communicative approaches are increasingly being accepted as showing benefits for learners in school, university and college classrooms, as well as at specialist conferences which allow for total immersion in an ancient language. These approaches are characterised by interaction with others using the ancient language. They may include various means and modalities such as face-to-face conversations and written communication. The ultimate aim is to optimise the facility to read such languages with comprehension and engagement. The examples showcased in this volume provide readers with a vital survey of the most current issues in communicative language teaching, helping them to explore and consider adoption of a wider range of pedagogical practices, and encouraging them to develop tools to promote engagement and retention of a wider variety of students than currently find ancient languages accessible. Both new and experienced teachers and learners can build on the experiences and ideas in this volume to explore the value of these approaches in their own classrooms.

Building on and updating some of the issues addressed in Starting to Teach Latin, Steven Hunt provides a guide for novice and more experienced teachers of Latin in schools and colleges, who work with adapted and original Latin prose texts from beginners' to advanced levels. It draws extensively on up-to-date theories of second language development and on multiple examples of the practices of real teachers and students. Hunt starts with a detailed look at deductive, inductive and active teaching methods, which support teachers in making the best choices for their students' needs and for their own personal preferences, but goes on to organise the book around the principles of listening, reading, speaking and writing Latin. It is designed to be informative, experimental and occasionally provocative. The book closes with two chapters of particular contemporary interest: 'Access, Diversity and Inclusion' investigates how the subject community is meeting the challenge of teaching Latin more equitably in today's schools; and 'The Future' offers some thoughts on lessons that have been learnt from the experiences of online teaching practices during the Covid-19 lockdowns. Practical examples, extensive references and a companion website at www.stevenhuntclassics.com are included. Teachers of Latin will find this book an invaluable tool inside and outside of the classroom.

Building on and updating some of the issues addressed in Starting to Teach Latin, Steven Hunt provides a guide for novice and more experienced teachers of Latin in schools and colleges, who work with adapted and original Latin prose texts from beginners' to advanced levels. It draws extensively on up-to-date theories of second language development and on multiple examples of the practices of real teachers and students. Hunt starts with a detailed look at deductive, inductive and active teaching methods, which support teachers in making the best choices for their students' needs and for their own personal preferences, but goes on to organise the book around the principles of listening, reading, speaking and writing Latin. It is designed to be informative, experimental and occasionally provocative. The book closes with two chapters of particular contemporary interest: 'Access, Diversity and Inclusion' investigates how the subject community is meeting the challenge of teaching Latin more equitably in today's schools; and 'The Future' offers some thoughts on lessons that have been learnt from the experiences of online teaching practices during the Covid-19 lockdowns. Practical examples, extensive references and a companion website at www.stevenhuntclassics.com are included. Teachers of Latin will find this book an invaluable tool inside and outside of the classroom.

Current Trends in the Development and Teaching of the four Language Skills builds connections from theory in the four language skills to instructional practices. It comprises twenty-one chapters that are grouped in five sections. The first section includes an introductory chapter which presents a communicative competence framework developed by the editors in order to highlight the key role the four skills play in language learning and teaching. The next four sections each represent a language skill: Section II is devoted to listening, Section III to speaking, Section IV to reading and Section V to writing. In order to provide an extensive treatment of each of the four skills, each section starts with a theoretical chapter which briefly illustrates advances in the understanding of how each skill is likely to be learned and taught, followed by four didactically oriented chapters authored by leading international specialists. These pedagogical chapters deal specifically with four key topics: 1) areas of research that influence the teaching of a particular skill; 2) an overview of strategies or techniques necessary for developing a particular skill; 3) an approach to the academic orientation of a particular skill, and 4) unique aspects of teaching each skill. Moreover, all chapters incorporate two common sections: pre-reading questions at the beginning of the chapter in order to stimulate readers' interest in its content, and a section entitled suggested activities at the end of the chapter in order to allow readers put the ideas and concepts presented into practice. The accessible style and practical focus of the volume make it an ideal tool for teachers, teacher trainers, and teacher trainees who are involved in teaching the four language skills in a second or foreign language context.

This volume focuses on how far the policies, principles and practices of foreign language teaching and learning are, or can be, informed by theoretical considerations and empirical findings from the linguistic disciplines. Part I deals with the nature of foreign language learning in general, while Part II explores issues arising from linguistic, socio-political, cultural and cognitive perspectives. Part III and IV then consider the different factors that have to be taken into account in designing the foreign language subject and the various approaches to pedagogy that have been proposed. Part V finally addresses questions concerning assessment of learner proficiency and the evaluation of courses designed to promote it. Key features: provides a state-of-the-art description of different areas in the context of foreign language communication and learning presents a critical appraisal of the relevance of the field offers solutions to everyday language-related problems with contributions from renowned experts

This volume provides a strong theoretical introduction to the field of intercultural communication, offering practical examples of classroom activities, as well as presenting empirical research which demonstrates that intercultural communicative competence (ICC) can be developed effectively in specially tailored courses adjusted to the needs of learners. It presents a novel model of intercultural sensitivity assessment, and outlines the results of research into intercultural communicative competence conducted among the students of English Language Studies in state colleges in Poland. The cultural component in developing ICC as an extra-linguistic determinant is assigned particular prominence in the book. A thorough analysis of the empirical material collected from participant observation, the administered questionnaires and interviews allowed the most common values and attitudes held as components of intercultural sensitivity to be identified. The obtained findings are subsequently analyzed to predict the potential areas of communication misunderstandings and failures between Polish learners of English and representatives of other cultures.

Despite their removal from England's National Curriculum in 1988, and claims of elitism, Latin and Greek are increasingly re-entering the 'mainstream' educational arena. Since 2012, there have been more students in state-maintained schools in England studying classical subjects than in independent schools, and the number of schools offering Classics continues to rise in the state-maintained sector. The teaching and learning of Latin and Greek is not, however, confined to the classroom: community-based learning for adults and children is facilitated in newly established regional Classics hubs in evenings and at weekends, in universities as part of outreach, and even in parks and in prisons. This book investigates the motivations of teachers and learners behind the rise of Classics in the classroom and in communities, and explores ways in which knowledge of classical languages is considered valuable for diverse learners in the 21st century. The role of classical languages within the English educational policy landscape is examined, as new possibilities exist for introducing Latin and Greek into school curricula. The state of Classics education internationally is also investigated, with case studies presenting the status quo in policy and practice from Australasia, North America, the rest of Europe and worldwide. The priorities for the future of Classics education in these diverse locations are compared and contrasted by the editors, who conjecture what strategies are conducive to success.

This new edition of Carl Ruck's text keeps its experimental approach and felicitous style, while including substantial changes that make the material easier to teach and learn. The book has been consolidated into a more concise and direct format so that the material can be covered in less time, and the somewhat intimidating aural-oral emphasis that characterized the first edition has been reduced. These improvements, together with the accessibility inherent in the structural approach to grammar, make Ancient Greek: A New Approachuseful not only as an innovative text in the text in the classroom but for general self-instruction as well.