FORM BASED & FUNCTION BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING

The study was inspired by continuous discussion in the field of form based and function
based role in successfull language teaching. Traditionally language have been taught with a
pedagogical focus on language structure that we called form based. In form based language
teaching, the focusing on the structure of language assisted learners to be able to cognitively
understand the syntax and morphology of the language. It was believed that the learners would
be able to speak the language accurately through repetitive structure exercises. Critics to this
based language teaching, Krashen (1982) and Prahbu (1987) argued that form based language
teaching does not lead to communicative competence. More recently there has been support for
languages teaching focusing on content, function, or communication than form based teaching.
Critics of this more recent approach argue that the exclusiom of form based in language teaching
leads to an inabbility of the students to speak accurately. For example they make grammatical
errors and/or choose the wrong register. In addition, critics believe that students will develop a
language variety with fossiilized mistakes.
This debate centers around the timing and appropriatness of explicit grammar instruction.
Furthermore, many research proven that teaching language with function based makes it possible
for the learner to understand how the language is built, while some believed that too much focus
on form might block the communicative competence and thus affect the function. The current
teaching language emphasize the communicative ability as a means for acquiring what is
expressed as the aim for the subject. In addition, the present educational system use a
communicative approach towards language where the communicative- and functional abilities
play a central role. Form and Function based in teaching language use both of form and function
of languages to teach. These teaching approaches were based on the idea that we need to know
how language arrange correctly so we can deliver what we want to say correctly. The purpose of
this study was to explain the importance both of form and function based in teaching language.
Several studies concerning second language learning in the classroom stress the need to balance
form-focused and meaning-focused teaching, as results have shown that a combination of both
are most effective in promoting second language learning (Lightbown & Spada 179).
 In addition, the concepts of form and function refer to the description expressed in
teaching language refer as knowledge about language structure and language use. Thus, it seems
important as well as motivated to scrutinize some English teachers beliefs and thoughts
concerning form and function in connection with their teaching. This approach implies that
teaching is carried out with an equal amount of focus on both language learning as well as
content learning.

a. Form Based Language Teaching

Focus on forms is a traditional way that the teachers draw students attention to grammatical
forms and linguistic forms. In college English teaching, teachers focus on the explanation of the
words, sentences and the main idea of the text by translation. After having understood the
different forms in the text, the students have no chance to practice speaking and listening.
In teaching language, form based starts with the language to be taught. The teacher or
textbook writer divides the language into segments of various kinds (phonemes, words,
collocations, morphemes, sentence patterns, notions, functions, tones, stress and intonation
patterns, and so on), and presents these to the learner in models, initially one item at a time, in a
sequence determined by (rather vague, usually intuitive) notions of frequency, valency, or (the
all-purpose and question-begging) "difficulty".
Form refers to the category labels we use for the building blocks of grammar, i.e. word
classes, phrases, and clauses. Consider the following sentence:
My daughter bought a completely useless smartphone over the summer.
Scanning this sentence from left to right we can label each individual word as follows:
My
Determiner
daughter Noun
bought Verb
a Determiner
completely Adverb
useless Adjective
smartphone Noun
Preposition
over
Determiner
the
 Noun
summer
All the word class labels above are referred to as grammatical form labels. Still talking about
form, we can also say that:
my daughter
is a noun phrase

a completely useless smartphone

is also a noun phrase

over the summer

is a preposition phrase

The terms noun phrase, preposition phrase, etc. are also grammatical form labels.
Digging deeper into the phrases a completely useless smartphone and over the summer we can
also say that:
completely useless is an adjective phrase within the larger noun phrase a completely
useless smartphone with the preposition phrase over the summer we have an embedded
noun phrase, namely the summer
(In some grammars we also have verb phrases such that bought on its own forms a verb phrase
or, if the direct object is included in the verb phrase, bought a new smartphone.
In summary, when we are talking about form, we are talking about structure. We can visualise
structure using what linguists call tree diagrams. For a completely useless smartphone the
tree looks like this:
 b. Function Based Language Teaching
Function based language teaching is a reaction to the traditional approach which is
teaching a language through grammar, translation, and pattern drills. It is defined as a teaching
method which focuses on teaching a language through meaningful communication in real
situations and real time Patsy M. Lightbown and Nina Spada who are leading scholars in
methodology, explain that Function based on the premise that successful language learning
involves not only a knowledge of the structure and forms of a language, but also the functions
and purposes that a language serves in different communicative settings.
Relating to this account, Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers assert that the goal of
function based language teaching is to achieve communicative competence in order to
communicate effectively. This new term, communicative competence, was first introduced by
Dell Hymes who states that second language learners should know not only the grammar rules of
a target language, but also, when and how to say what to whom in order to communicate with
native speakers successfully.
Teachers with function based classes usually employ a notional-functional syllabus as a
specific way of improving students communicative competence. David Arthur Wilkins proposed
the notional-functional syllabus by focusing on the content native speakers use to communicate
rather than teaching grammatical rules or fixed sentences. Secondly, the teacher will let students
practice a form orally by asking a question (e.g. Would you mind opening the window?);
finally, the teacher and students should ask and answer questions about their personal
experiences by making requests to one another. In addition to these three steps, the students can
also do various kinds of communicative activities which support information sharing or
negotiation of meaning and interaction.

Discussion & Analysis

As mentioned above, knowledge of grammar does not produce fluent speakers of a
language. There are many learners who do very well on grammar tests but have little ability to
comprehend or speak English. On the other hand, many native speakers who speak English
flawlessly have difficulty explaining the grammar rules of the language. Researchers have
distinguished between form based and function based in language teaching. Form based is
the deliberate teaching of grammar in order to produce understanding of the grammar, in the
hope that understanding alone will allow the language learner to use the form correctly.
Function based, on the other hand, refers to bringing grammar to the attention of
language learner as a part of communicative language practice. It is generally conceded that
focusing on grammar for grammars sake does little to contribute to correctness during
communication, while making learners aware of structures as a part of communicative language
practice can contribute to the development of greater accuracy during communication. Form
based and function based language teaching are generally described as a dividing between
language use and language as a system. Knowledge about the language system is expressed in
following words: vocabulary, phraseology, pronunciation, spelling and grammar as well as
forming linguistically coherent utterances, which in terms of their contents and form are
progressively adapted to the situation and audience. By function-based teaching, language use
the syllabus refers to being able to use English for studies, travel in other countries and for
social and professional international contacts of different kinds.

Form based and Function based are two extremely important concepts that you need to know
and should apply in language teaching for some reason as below:
The form based in language teaching help the students to improve their grammatical
knowledge, but it did not contribute to improving their communication skills so it need to
combine with function based language teaching.
 Minseo Yu in his Masters Paper which Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree of Masters of Arts in TESOL in University of Wisconsin-River
Falls, said that from the 1950s, to the early 1990s, students were taught English using a
traditional approach which focused on teaching sentence level grammar rules without verbal
communication. However, it did not improve their communicative skills. For this reason, He said
that language teaching should use the communicative approach in English instruction without
ignoring in grammatically correct. Then students have not only learned how to use English
appropriately in different social situations, in addition to improving the grammatical accuracy of
their output.
Form based and function based in language teaching are effective way to improve
students fluency without neglecting the accuracy in communication, which will influence
the process towards target language.
Based on Council of Europe, Grammatical competence which provide in form based language
teaching is viewed as integral to all language skills, which learners have to master progressively
to arrive at a high degree of accuracy, specifically within higher levels, consistently maintains a
high degree of grammatical accuracy; errors are rare and difficult to spot .
With form based and function based language teaching, the leaners are able to produce utterances
with grammatically correct.
Form based and function based in language teaching should be applied in language
teaching and learning to improve students accuracy as well as fluency in communicative
competence.
The problem of focus on forms is to lay emphasis on language knowledge teaching than
students comprehensive abilities of using foreign language. Meanwhile function based language
teaching is a student-centered teaching method, which transfer the students attention from focus
on the grammatical or linguistic forms to focus on meaning in output. Recently there has been a
call for an integration of form based and function based in the second language classroom, thats
also called focus on form. Long (1991: 45-46) suggested that one way to encourage accuracy is
through the concept of focus on form that target students accuracy and focus on form overtly
draws students attention to linguistic elements as they arise incidentally in lessons whose over-
riding focus is on meaning or communication . He stressed the need for a focus on form to be
enmeshed in communicative activity and motivated by communicative need. The use of both
form and function based language teaching in the classroom allows the teacher to instruct
students to both accuracy and fluency. The aim of focus on form is to make learners to sue
language to do things and experience language through using it. It emphasizes the accuracy of
language forms in communicative classrooms.
Conclusion
Form based and function based language teaching is practical and effective in English
teaching and it should be applied to improve students accuracy as well as fluency. The aim of
form based and function based language teaching is to make learners to sue language to do things
and experience language through using it. Without basic linguistic structures, there is no way to
achieve this aim. Therefore, tasks need to be designed and relevant support activities can be
chosen to make the use of structures easier and the teachers need to design a variety of tasks to
increase students awareness of approaching language from using and practicing.