The Surface and Deep Approaches to Learning and Teaching the English Language in Higher Education

This article examines surface and deep approaches to learning and teaching English in higher education. In surface learning, students focus on external goals such as getting a particular grade or award or pleasing or impressing someone else. These students tend to do only what is necessary and focus more on being able to regurgitate what they have learned rather than truly understanding and absorbing the material. A deep approach to learning concentrates on the meaning of what is learned. That concentration may involve testing the material against general knowledge, everyday experience, and knowledge from other fields or courses. A student taking a deep approach seeks principles to organize information. This article discusses the theoretical foundations of both approaches, their practical applications, contradictions and limitations.The conclusion of this study suggest that a combination of both approaches is necessary for effective teaching and learning of English in higher education