Language Teaching: Methods & Approaches

Methods in Language Teaching

• Methods provide teachers and learners with guidelines in language learning.
• Methods offer specific instructions for teachers on how to teach, and for learners on how to learn.
• Methods prescribe which materials, activities, and roles teachers should use.
• For learners, methods dictate what learning approach to take and their classroom roles.

Approaches in Language Teaching

• Approaches underlie each language method.
• Approaches consist of theories about the nature of language and language learning.
• These theories are rooted in linguistics, sociolinguistics, and psycholinguistics.

Influences on an Approach

• Language theory defines how language is viewed, for example, as structural or functional.
• Structural view focuses on grammar and coding of meaning through structurally related elements.
• Functional view sees language as a tool for expressing functional meaning.
• Theory of language learning addresses how learners acquire the language.
• This includes identifying the psychological and cognitive processes involved: habit formation, induction and generalization.
• This process also considers the conditions needed to activate learning.

Theory of Language - Focus of Teaching

• If language is structurally related, language dimension is prioritized by grammatical concerns.
• Grammatical dimensions include phonological units and the operations of grammatical units.
• If language is viewed as a vehicle for functional meaning, semantic and communicative dimensions are prioritized.
• Focus is given to the functions and notions within the language.

Syllabus

• The syllabus puts theory into practice, offering ways to develop content and skills by making choices about content order.
• Selection and content organization will be affected by the language theory applied.
• Various methods use differing types of syllabi by selecting and organizing content in variety of ways.

Teaching/Learning Practices

• Learning tasks and activities in the classroom are key components.
• Learner roles in the classroom define the degree of control, type of roles and recommended groupings.
• Teacher roles involve the teacher's functions, influence on the learning process, and interaction with the learners.
• Key to understand their roles involves analyzing control degrees and how the teacher influences the learning journey.
• Materials play a key role in the learning process, including their forms and functions.
• Some methods design materials to serve as a teacher replacement, to enable independence in learning.
• Other materials act as "teacher proof" for instructors with limited language control.

Assessment

• A key component is determining how to assess students' language knowledge.
• Central aspect is understanding how to grade language skills.
• Important is defining an error correction policy.

How These Relate

• Classroom activities, also known as techniques, have different kinds.
• A method affects teaching language differently based on how language is taught (the approach).
• Approaches affect the best ways for someone to learn various languages.

Grammar Translation Method

• Traditional teaching approach focusing on Latin and Greek.
• In the 19th century it was used to teach French, German, and English.
• Lessons presented grammatical rules, with texts demonstrating the rule, lists of new words, and written translation/grammar exercises.
• Emphasis was placed on reading and writing, teaching vocabulary as isolated words.
• Elaborate grammar explanations are provided in the student's native language or the mother tongue.
• Language use has no oral provision.
• Texts are treated as grammatical exercises, with only translation drills of disconnected sentences.

Direct Method

• Developed in the early 1900s and posited by Charles Berlitz.
• Views second language learning as similar to first language.
• Emphasis is given on oral interaction, fluent use of language, no translation, and little grammar analysis.
• Classroom instruction is conducted in the target language.
• Grammar is taught through an inductive approach.
• Everyday vocabulary is taught with concrete vocabulary shown through pictures and objects.
• Abstract vocabulary is taught through association of ideas.
• Introduced teaching points are orally communicated.
• Communication skills are taught with organized question-answer exchanges between teachers and students.
• Speech and listening comprehension, as well as correct pronunciation and grammar, are taught.

The Audiolingual Method

• Arrived in the 1950's
• Spurred by the need for oral proficiency during World War II.
• Inspired by structuralism and behaviorism with an oral-based approach known as 'The Army Method.'
• Identification of grammatical structures and basic sentence patterns is required.
• Students systematically practice patterns, and pronunciation is emphasized within oral drills.
• It presents new learning material in dialogue form.
• There is dependency on mimicry and memorization.
• Learners develop habits through constant repetition.
• Language learning involves acquiring mechanical habits, therefore errors are not accepted.
• Developing positive language routines is the teacher's purpose.
• Grammar is taught to be inductive with little to no grammatical explanation.
• Very little or no use of the mother tongue is allowed.
• Successful student responses are always reinforced.
• Great effort is put toward the student making error-free utterances.

Typical Audiolingual Activities

• Students memorize conversations with 'Dialog memorization'.
• Repeating the teacher's version as quickly and accurately as possible is required with 'Repetition drill'.
• With 'Transformation drill', students convert a sentence into the negative after the teacher gives students sentences.
• 'Question-and-answer drill' provides students practice with answering.
• With the 'Complete the dialog' activity, erased words are replaced by students.

Designer Methods (Humanistic Approaches)

• Designer methods were established between the 1970's-1980's.
• Principles of psychology and psychotherapy are emphasized.
• Major designer method include: 'The silent way', 'Total physical response', 'Suggestopedia', and 'Community language learning'.

The Silent Way

• Characterized by a problem-solving method.
• Fosters student autonomy and collaboration, is characterized.
• Learners discover or create the needed lesson rather than remembering and going over what is taught.
• Learning can be assisted with the use of physical objects.
• Students learn material by problem-solving the lesson.
• Colored charts each symbolize sounds of the material.
• Teachers remain silent, letting the student learn and discover by themselves and only help or speak when necessary.
• Peer correction is enforced in a helpful not competitive manner.
• The teacher signals that revision is needed with specific hand motions in gesturing self-correction.
• Students use the chart with depicted words that are also used in sounds to relate words to each other.
• The fidel chart is very similar to the sound colour chart but with extra additions to the English spellings, so it can relate directly actual sounds.

Suggestopedia

• One of the new approaches dating back to the 1970’s founded by Georgi Lozanov.
• The brain can digest a lot of material if the mood and environment is calm and away from the teacher.
• Used for any topic and can quickly introduce 200-240 new words.
• Created is comforting settings highlighted by plush seating and soft lighting.
• Emphasized is peripheral learning, achieved through language-related posters and decorations.
• Teachers take on the role of complete authority and control in the classroom.
• Barriers to learning are ‘desuggested’.
• Students should be childlike and pretend during mental tasks and try being suggestible.
• Baroque music is used lightly in the background to invoke mental relaxation and the chance to retain new material.
• Translated dialogues in students' native language is read.
• Errors are allowed focusing more on context and the teacher will give a lesson on it.
• Music drama and art are integrated into the learning process.
• Only homework is to reread the dialogue they are studying.
• Key phases in relation of content starts with: giving a dialog and describing the use of material.
• Next is reviewing main points.
• Secondary activation is when students are focusing more on new material and communicative intent.

Total Physical Response (TPR)

• TPR combines listening with physical actions to aid comprehension in language learning.
• This approach was founded by Dr. James J. Asher to aid learning new languages.
• Code-breaking is like what the method relies to understand what others are communicating in language.
• Parallel with a child understanding their own language, learning should become their own type.
• Good activities can create stress free learning.
• Learners are encouraged to speak only when read.
• Key theories involved a grammar based view of language.
• Language learning includes a stimulus response view.

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)

• Established during the 1980’s
• Focused on improving contact communication and the target language.
• Make classroom activities helpful with improving communications.
• Presenting true writings to improve the study situations.
• Make available for students to focus well and grow in their studies.
• Add more personal experiences to the learning in a great way.
• Connecting classroom is to activate out of the classroom.
• Improving to be fluent with conversations.
• Connecting all skills is valuable.
• Understanding the process and knowing each step after trial and error.

Task Based Learning

• A method focused on instruction with true understanding to complete tasks.
• Task outcome is assessed rather than the understanding to succeed, such as visiting a doctor.
• Makes learning simple and is designed to create a great student.
• It requires 3 phases pre task,doing , post task.

Issues With Current Procedures (Problems associated with methods)

• Understanding true steps and which types of art one will approach.
• There are strategies, it is basic for developers but open for most views.
• State of the art has not been in business for thousands of years.
• The marketplace has its turns with industry and learning and improvement.
• Most approaches are from the west, it is up to the user to apply each value and belief.

Approaching Eclectic English Studies

• Larsen Freeman and Mellow came to the decision to choose electicism for their teaching method to English.
• There should be a wide range of the types of ways the student uses such as unique beliefs.
• It is necessary that there be some form of power there as well as not so well.
• The teacher will choose which direction the lecture will move toward with student goals.
• Courses now have some mixture of various teaching aspects.
• Better teaching is the main focus for students with an "eclectic approach."
• Better ideas and systems provide safety from problems that may occur and give various methods for learning and growing.
• Holding the students attention is what we use for unique techniques.
• Understanding unique methods will support different systems to be taught.
• Knowing many ideas will create flexibility to better teachers for material handling and surprises.