A-Z of methodology - Zero level

From the 'A to Z of Methodology' in the Cambridge English for Schools Teacher's Books.

Andrew Littlejohn and Diana Hicks
Copyright Cambridge University Press

Zero level

What and why?
‘Zero level’ is the term often used to refer to students who are at the very beginnings of learning a language or at the beginning of learning a particular aspect of language (such as ‘the past tense’). The term ‘zero level’, however, suggests that they come to us with knowing nothing, and this may have an impact on how we teach them. If we assume they know nothing, then we may see our task as getting language ‘into their heads’ - filling ‘the empty bucket’ as the philosopher Karl Popper, once described it. This can therefore place students into a passive role in the classroom, where they are to simply ‘learn what they are taught’. In actual fact, all students come to the classroom knowing a lot - about the world, about their experiences, about how language is used and, particularly with younger students, full of imagination and ideas. It may be true that they know little of the foreign language - although they probably know more than we think - but if we emphasize the foreign language aspect (rather than their ideas, experiences, and so on) then we will limit their possibilities of contributing to the classroom.

Practical ideas

In CEWw, the initial emphasis in each unit is on the topic or content. Language is presented as a way of communicating ideas - not just as ‘grammar’. When the emphasis is on a topic, there is more possibility for the students to contribute what they have learned elsewhere. In these initial stages, the accuracy of the students’ language is not so important. The important part is that there is the possibility to understand and exchange ideas.
When they are sharing ideas/information about a topic, you can help them to say what they want to say in English. Provide key phrases and words as they need them. This way, they will relate to the new language as their language.
Brainstorming is an excellent way of finding out what students know about something before you begin.
If you are teaching a ‘new’ language area, you can ask the students how they express those ideas in their own language. For example, if you are teaching a function such as asking for information you might ask them how they would ask different people to borrow a pen - e.g. a friend, a very small child, a stranger in the street, a teacher and so on. This way, they can see that they have naturally have the ability to adjust their language to different situations. You can also do the same with areas of grammar - particularly where English is different from the mother tongue.
It is often useful to ask students to do an open-ended task before you teach a new language area. Choose a task which naturally uses the language that you intend to teach. For example, if you about to teach the Past simple, you might ask the students to brainstorm what they know about the life of cave people. Often, we are surprised by what they can produce.
You can also ask to share ideas about an area of grammar before you teach it. For example, you could ask them, in pairs, to note down any words they know for talking about the past in English. You could put some ideas on the board in the mother tongue (e.g. ‘yesterday’ ‘last night’ ‘100 years ago’ “I was...” “Made in ....”)