3. LANGUAGE CONTENT 3.1. Grammar 3.1.1. Grammar Teaching 3.1.2. Evaluation Of Coursebook In Terms Of Grammar Teaching 3.1.3.

Classroom Profile In Grammar Theaching 3.2. Vocabulary 3.2.1. Vocabulary Teaching 3.2.2. Evaluation Of Coursebook In Terms Of Vocabulary Teaching 3.2.3. Classroom Profile In Vocabulary Teaching 3.3. Pronunciation 3.3.1. Pronuncation Teaching 3.3.2. Evaluation Of Coursebook In Terms Of Pronunciation Teaching 3.3.3. Classroom Profile In Pronunciation 3. LANGUAGE CONTENT 3.1. GRAMMAR 3.1.1. Grammar Teaching The first considerations are what grammar items are included and how far they correspond to learner needs.Grammar is a major component of any general language course, whether it is acknowledged as such, or disguised as something else. It is the effective teaching of grammar that distinguishes a true language course from a phrasebook and it is an understanding of and ability to use grammar that equips learners with the ability to create their own utterances and use language for their own purposes. When introducing new grammar items it is possibble to teach the form of a new grammatical item without its meaning (in the sense of its underlying use). Equally, it is possible to present a new grammar item with emphasis on its use, minimizing or postponing the problems presented by its form (or forms in the case of irregular verbs). (Cunningsworth, 1995: 32) We should also consider that how the book gives the grammar. Generally we have 2 basic items:
1. Rule based : Emphasis is on the form. First of all, rules are given, the speaker has to obey some kinds of rules exemplify these rules to make them use. Teaching new grammatical items without the emphasis on meaning.Very important teaching principles :

a) recycling b) interanalizing
2. Performance based : Teaching new grammatical items with emphasis on its use. Provide feedback and context to permit students to interanalize or grasp the meaning of the rule of the structures from the context. Students can interanalize the meaning of the rules, not the rule itself. (Lecturer Muazzaz Yavuzs notes)

3.1.2. Evaluation Of Coursebook In Terms Of Grammar Teaching Grammar items that are included in Welcome Plus are; Present simple of the verb to be Question words Personal pronouns possessive pronouns and adjectives Possessive case

The verb have got Plurals Present simple tense Adverbs of frequency The verb can Prepositions of time Present continuous tense Some / any / no A few / a little Should / shouldnt Past simple of the verb to be Simple past tense

The grammar items that are included in Welcome Plus correspond to students language needs. Some simple phrases and sentences are provided for students to give personal information or to encourage them to talk about their field of interest in simple terms. Welcome Plus is based on performance based approach. It teaches new grammatical items with the emphasise on its use. By this way; students interanalize the meaning of the rules; not the rule itself. They interanalize or grasp the rule of structures from the context. Welcome Plus gives the use of language in speaking or reading activities. (see appendix : 8 ) Here; grammar structure is in the dialogue. First Ss practise the dialogue without knowing the rule. In each unit, there is a Grammar Table after the dialogues.(see appendix : 8 ) This grammar table shows the grammar items in an inductive way; no rule is given. Students are made understand the rules by themselves. As we see; Welcome Plus uses Inductive Structure. There is only one section in which deductive approach is used. Its the plural forms of the nouns. (see appendix : 9 ) First it gives the rules because in English; all the nouns do not take -s when they become plural and the coursebook emphises the nouns that change when they become plural. Students practise grammar structures in the exercises which fallow the table. (see appendix : 8 ) Students practise the grammar structures first orally, then in writing. We see the Present Continuous Tense (see appendix: 10 ) for both immadiate present and immediate future after the Simple Present Tense. Learning two functions of the Present Continuos Tense provides an apportunity to students for understanding the differences between them by comparing. The organization of the Welcome Plus is according to grammar structures. Each of the reading passages, dialogues and all of the four skills activities are related with each units grammar structures. (appendix : 5- 11 ) The grammar order of Welcome Plus is according to Cyclical progression. It moves from one item to another very quickly and then returns back in one time and covers once again. Welcome Plus teaches Simple Present Tense (see appendix 12 ) and then it teaches Present Continuos Tense (see appendix : 13 ). In here; there becomes a link between Simple Present Tense and Present Continuos Tense and then it gives the Simple Present Tense in other aspects again. (see appendix : 8 )

Welcome Plus recycles grammar structures from the previous levels. Simple Present Tense has been presented with always, usually,etc.. in Unit 4 (see appendix : 14 ) and then it has been presented in Unit 8. For recycle Welcome Plus presents a Reminder Box .(see appendix : 8 ) Welcome Plus pays attention to Revision as much as the Recycling. It provides Modular Revision and Assessment sections for revision after the each module.(see appendix : 15-16-17 ) This revision parts icludes these execise types for grammar; a) Multible Choice Completion b) Simple Completion and there is a Now I Know section which provides both students and teacher to realize what students have learned in each mole. 3.1.3. Classroom Profile In Grammar Teaching Teacher fallows the content of Welcome Plus ans she also use the lesson procedure of the book as a guide. While teaching grammar; she uses inductive approach. She writes some sentences to the board and asks students to guess the meaning of the sentences. After discussing about students guesses she gaves the form of the grammar structure. Students make all the exercises in the coursebook in the lesson as a practice and the workbooks exercises are assigned as homework. She brings extra worksheet to the classroom and want them to use their own Cdroms for self study. When we asked her about the grammar teaching in Welcome Plus, she mentioned that Welcome Plus gives the grammar items in an appropriate way and not only she but also the students love the way of Welcome Plus in teaching grammar. 3.2. Vocabulary 3.2.1. Vocabulary Teaching It is often asserted with some truth that, particulary at lower level, students can communicate more effectively with a knowledge of vocabulary than with a knowledge of grammar. Selecting vocabulary is a tricky subject and not as simple as might be expected. One criterion alone is inadequate for selecting a workable vocabulary range for a teaching programme or coursebook. Few coursebooks explain how the vocabulary they include has been selected, referring to frequency and usefulness. In general terms, we would expect to see at least 1000 words taught in each stage of a general course. Very often additional vocabularylearning activities are provided in the students workbook, as much vocabulary learning take place outside the classroom. As well as teaching as many new words as possible, coursebooks can help equip students with strategies for handling the unfamiliar vocabulary that they will inevitably meet. They can also enable students to develop their own vocabulary-learning strategies. Vocabulary learning activities help learners to extend and develop their vocabulary in a purposeful and structured way. We would not expect to see just wordlists or dictionary definitions of new words. Nor would we expect to see words taught in isolation or outside of context. Good vocabulary development activities tend to exploit some or all of the following :

semantic relations : word groups according to meaning, synonyms, hyponyms, opposites situational relationships : word sets associated with particular situations, eg sport, transport, politics

collocations : words commonly found in association, eg food and drink, for better or worse, noun + preposition links and phrasal verbs ( verb +
particle links)

relationships of form ( often referred to as word building ) : eg long_length_lenghten. (Cunningsworth , 1995 : 38 )

3.2.2. Evaluation Of Coursebook In Terms Of Vocabulary Teaching In Welcome Plus series, each unit starts with the presentation of new words and each word is presented through a picture, so that students understand the meaning easily by visualizing it (see Appendix : 27,18,19 ). Here, from these examples we can infer that this coursebook gives much importance to vocabulary teaching. The essential vocabulary is given according to some particular topics depending on a structure. (see Appendix : 20 ) As its seen, in unit 2, our topic is defining objects and people, and the vocabulary given is about peoples physical appearance and character. (see Appendix : 21 ) The necessary structures while we are using for defining objects and somebodys features are have/has got , the plural forms of the nouns and am/is/are. So, while teaching these structures it gives us the necessary vocabulary items for this topic. However our syllabus type is multidimensional, it mostly uses and focuses on topic-based.Generally it chooses the topic, the situation and the vocabulary; then creates a context according to that. The topics are amusing and chosen according to their ages and interests. The words chosen are so appropriate in terms of frequency and usefulness. (see Appendix : 22,21,18 ) All the words in those units are basic necessary things and very possible to be used in daily life language and the topics assigned are not artificial. (see Appendix : 23 ex. 15) In this activity, students are wanted to write a letter to a foreign friend describing a new friend from school. This topic is so useful for them to practise and produce with the new words that they have learnt. Vocabulary learning exercises are based on collocations, situational relationships and semantic relations. (see Appendix : 24, ex. 10) This exercise is based on collocations. All the words in the exercise are about food&drinks and they commonly found in association with each other. (see Appendix : 25, ex. 12) In this exercise, words chosen are based on situational relationships. Word sets are associated with particular topics. These are sports and activities. (see Appendix :26, ex. 5) This exercise is about the sematic relations. Here we have the word groups (on the left) and students are wanted to find and match the suitable ones according to their meanings. In Welcome Plus series there is an adequate recycling and revision. As this book series are written for very young learners, these are essential for them. They have to learn without realizing, because its really hard to take their attentions. So, this can be done by the games or covering the items in different contexts. There is a modular revision part at the end of each three units. All of the items that are learnt in the previous three units such as grammar and vocabulary are covered once again at this part. (see Appendix : 20) For instance, in the first three units our vocabulary is about family words, countries and nationalities, jobs, peoples physical appearance and character, animals, pets and related adjectives; and in the revision part (see appendix : 27 ) vocabulary exercises are about family words, jobs and pets. As its seen, even in this part vocabulary is given with the pictures or a chart. The other word groups are integrated with the skills. For example, the word groups that we use while defining somebody are given in the exercise of writing skills (see Appendix : 28 ex. I,J). As there is a cyclical progression in vocabulary, we have a lot recycled words. For example, students learn the countries and nationalities in the first unit (see Appendix : 29 ex7,8). Then these words are covered once again in Unit 2 (see Appendix : 21 ) in a dialogue, but here in a different context and topic. So, they add unknown things to the known ones. As another words, this coursebook gives an opportunity to consolidate the known vocabulary items while learning the new ones. As another example, in Unit 7 our topic is about food and drinks (see appendix : 13 ). Students learn the names of the food and drinks in this unit, then we see them again in Unit 8 (see Appendix : 8, ex. 5). There is an exercise about giving an order in a restaurant. While students are practising the structure (would you like) that they have learnt, they recycle the words about food and drink. 3.2.3. Classroom Profile In Vocabulary Teaching

However this coursebook deals with the vocabulary very well, the teacher s way of teaching the new vocabulary items doesnt seem fit to this coursebooks vocabulary teaching strategies. This book includes approximately 1100 new words and almost every lesson teacher writes 10-20 words to the board and wants from students to write these 5-10 times on their notebooks. As we observed, this has created a fear and boredom above the students. Whenever they were wanted to write these, we heard such kind of sounds as Ohh, once again?, Come on teacher! . Even, at one time we witnessed teachers using this as a threatment such as If you keep on making a noise, Ill want you to write 20 times after a big noise made by the students. This is so wrong because it creates discouragement above the students. Besides this, students like it very much if the vocabulary is given with the pictures because they find the colourful pictures so entertaining and they show their interests to those pictures without realizing as visuals are so important for them at those ages. 3.2. Pronunciation 3.2.1. Pronunciation Teaching Most foreign language learners would agree that the improvement of their pronunciation is a desirable and necessary objective. How realistic, however, is the expectation amongst adult learners in particular that such an objective can be attained? There is a whole range of material available on the market designed to give learners practice in different aspects of pronunciation, from individual phonemes to intonation patterns, but how effective these materials are is open to debate. Market forces dictate that most published pronunciation materials are of a general nature and not geared to learners from a specific linguistic background. Thus, in a mixed nationality class it is entirely possible that learners may waste time practising the pronunciation of individual English phonemes that they are perfectly able to pronounce anyway, as these phonemes have virtually identical, if not wholly identical, equivalents in their mother tongue. In the case of phonemes, it would appear to be worth devoting attention to this area only if there are clearly defined problems caused by mother tongue interference that affect intelligibility. If this is the case, it should be possible to identify those vowel, consonant and diphthong sounds that cause particular problems to learners from specific linguistic backgrounds. If this is done, it can be argued that practice in the pronunciation of individual phonemes is worthwhile, even if any improvement is perceived as minimal. Having clear objectives (for example: these are the six sounds that you need to work on) is surely the key in this particular area of pronunciation. Unfortunately for the learner, however, effective pronunciation is much more than the stringing together of a series of sounds. The "facial set" of a particular language will have a significant impact on attempts to pronounce another. By the time adulthood is reached, the facial muscles used in the articulation of the sounds of the mother tongue will have developed to the extent that it requires genuine effort to adapt these muscles to the sounds of a different language. Changing this facial set to approximate that of English requires the learner not only to be willing to attempt this change but to have an awareness of what he or she needs to do in order to achieve it. This can be a very difficult process. Just what is the facial set of English? Some learners have said that English sounds to them as if it is mumbled. Others say that there is little or no apparent jaw movement, that English sounds "lazy". In his book "How to be an Alien", the Hungarian writer George Mikes writes "If you want to sound English, just put a pipe in your mouth and say actually at the end of every sentence". These observations might be oversimplifications, but they are nonetheless significant, as they tell us something about how the pronunciation of English is perceived by others. It can be argued that pronouncing a foreign language is, first and foremost, to demonstrate an ability to switch to a different persona, one in which the learner takes on the facial set of that language. The learner also needs to be able to identify particular features of phonemes, stress, rhythm and intonation that give the language its distinctive sound. An interesting, if not always successful experiment, is to ask learners to imitate an English speaker speaking their language and then to invite them to suggest what was different about the way they were speaking to the way they normally spoke their mother tongue. The results can be very informative and often produce similar comments to those mentioned above. This exercise has overtones of imitation, even mimicry, and can only be performed successfully after extensive exposure to examples of spoken English.

Listening is of paramount importance to the process of acquiring a more comprehensible pronunciation. If pronunciation is only affected slightly by this kind of awareness, at least some progress has been made. The goal of pronunciation teaching must be increased comprehensibility, however limited that increase may be. In the final analysis, the development of perfect, native-speaker-like pronunciation may not only be an unachievable objective, it may also be undesirable as it raises questions of identity. After all, English spoken with a "non-standard" accent will often sound extremely pleasant to the listener, and why in any case should Budapest English or Bremen English be regarded as in any way inferior to Belfast English or Birmingham English? (Tim Bowen, http://www.onestopenglish.com/news/magazine/archive/pronounciation.htm) 3.3.2. Evaluation Of Coursebook In Terms Of Pronunciation Teaching In Welcome Plus series, for a correct pronunciation and intonation theres listen and repeat parts. By the help of the cassettes and taperecorders students are trained to distinct the different ways of the utterances of the words that like each other. (see appendix : 3O ex. 8) Here, in exercise 8, is the th sound whose pronunciation differs word by word. Students listen the utterances from the tape recorder and then repeat chorally or individually. The other example is the ou sound (see appendix : 31 ex.7). Here, students learn how to spell this sound by the help of different examples of words. For the last example there comes the ea sound (see appendix : 1 ex. 6). As its easily seen, this coursebook gives a great importance of distincting some particular sounds from each other. The coursebook package includes cassettes and CDs for a classroom and individual study at students homes. These include all vocabularies, dialogues, texts and songs which are necessary for home study. By this way, students have the chance to listen these recordings as many times as they want to improve their pronunciation and intonation. There is also games as a classroom activity that are called hanging a man and girls vs boys. These games are so important for students to revise the words and see their mistakes about both pronunciation and general word knowledge. 3.3.3. Classroom Profile In Pronunciation Teaching Students like all of the pronunciation activities so much because they like to listen the songs and they find it funny to utter the words as a native speaker, so they take these activities serious. We have also the games as a classroom activity that students like them so much too, because they like competitions. These games are called hanging a man and boys vs girls and they are so important for them to revise the words and see their mistakes about pronunciation and general word knowledge.