Teaching Methodologies & Learning Theories PDF

I. The Definition of Didactic Didactics is one of the Sciences of Education. In particular, it deals with the processes of teaching and learning. It is different from other Education Sciences in that it concentrates specifically on how teachers, learners and knowledge interact and sup...

I. The Definition of Didactic Didactics is one of the Sciences of Education. In particular, it deals with the processes of teaching and learning. It is different from other Education Sciences in that it concentrates specifically on how teachers, learners and knowledge interact and support one another. Because of this reason, it is a key subject in the teacher education curriculum. Given its emphasis it acts as a hinge between the general education subjects and the specific subject. disciplines, which make up the core of a teacher's knowledge. field of pedagogy that deals with theories, Didactics is a “ ideas, principles and instructions directed at successful conduction of educational process”. The science, art or practice of teaching. A theory and practical application of teaching and learning. Psychology helps teachers understand how students learn so they claim that Didactics is part of Psychology. For the same reasons, Pedagogy is concerned with how people are educated, and they also claim that Didactics is part of Pedagogy. I. The Difference between an Approach, Method, Technique and Methodology The terms approach, method, and technique are interrelated words. These concepts have been discussed by various scholars, among which is Douglas Brown. The discussions were/are mostly intended to make a distinction between the three terms and to show the correlation between them. a. Approach An approach is a set of assumptions, beliefs and theoretical views about the nature of language (Brown). In lay words, It’s Generally, a theory that attempts to explain how languages are learned. For example, behaviorism is a language learning theory that suggests that learning language occurs through a process of stimulus/response and reinforcement. “An approach is an integrated set of theoretical & practical beliefs embodying both syllabus and method” (how learning a language takes place). It represents the philosophy about both the theory of language and the theory of learning. b. Method A method is a set of techniques or procedures that are used systematically with the aim of achieving efficient learning. A method is often based upon the premises of an approach (es). The audiolingual method is an example of a teaching method; it is based on the premises of behaviorism. “how to conduct teaching and learning”. O A practical implementation of an approach. c. Technique PPP (presentation, practice, production) is one of the most widely known and most widely used techniques in language teaching. This Technique is characteristic of audiolingual method. It is therefore one of the many techniques of the audiolingual method. If a method is a set of techniques/procedures that are intended to make the process of learning fruitful, a technique is one single technique of a method. “It is a way of carrying out a task”. For instance, spider map, mind map, brainstorming, jigsaw… O Any of a wide variety of exercises, activities, or devices used in the language classroom for realizing lesson objectives. O Practice that operates in teaching a language according to a particular method. So, the technique is part and parcel of procedure. d. Methodology A methodology is a set of classroom techniques, procedures irrespective of the particular method the teacher is using. A methodology is related to the teacher’s style and choice, it ‘s personal and flexible and designed and adopted by the teacher according to the classroom circumstances, so the latter is using various techniques from diverse methods i.e. he does not stick to one specific method. A method is official and designed by the experts. It includes a set of procedures and strategies which are fixed. A method has a specific technique for example Audiolingual method has its own techniques no more no less, so the teacher cannot modify or add anything. e. Procedure The step by step measures to execute a method. II. Learning Theories Recently many psychologists have given great importance and focus to the learning theories, mainly because of the interesting and complex nature of the concept of learning, in other words, psychologists are intrigued by how the mind acquires knowledge. It is only if we know how knowledge is acquired, we will be able to use appropriate teaching and learning methods in the classroom. 1. The definition of Learning Wakefield (1996: 364) defined learning as: “a relatively permanent change in the behavior of an individual based on his/her experiences or discoveries”. Thus, the process of experience and discovery lead to a new understanding of the world and ourselves and enables us to apply the acquired knowledge in new situations. Knowledge acquisition involves a process that transforms data from experience into organized information. 2. Common learning theories The ongoing debate as to how languages are acquired has resulted in the emergence of many theories, all of which intend to explain the intricate nature of language acquisition. Each of the theories proposed have tried to look at language from a different standpoint with the aim of having a full understanding of how languages are acquired. i. Behaviorism Behaviorism is a learning theory that considers language to be a learned behavior or habit which we acquire through a process of stimuli-response and positive reinforcement or punishment. Ivan Pavlov, John Watson and B.F. Skinner are considered the pioneers of this theory. They considered learning as a matter of “habit formation”. For them effective learning was a matter of reinforcing good habits, while errors were seen as bad habits. 1) Operant Conditioning by Skinner Skinner posited that learning happened through a three steps reinforcement cycle (the latter starts with a stimulus, which triggered a response in the organism ‘in our case humans’ if the response was correct, it was to be reinforced positively, however, if the response was incorrect, it was to be punished or negatively reinforced.) He invented ‘the operant conditioning chamber that is a maze with levers where rats and pigeons were put in order to study them, the process involved the animals in trying to get out of the maze by going through it. At some point there were levers which animals were supposed to press. If they press the right lever, they got food (positive reinforcement), but if they press the wrong one they get an electric shock (negative reinforcement). Over time the animals learned to press the correct lever and stayed away from the wrong ones. Operant conditioning: the use of pleasant consequences to control the occurrence of behavior. Skinner said “the reinforced actions are more likely to be repeated” Skinner understood language as a series of habits to be acquired. He denied that the mind or internal cognitive process could have any kind of role in learning, because to him internal process could not be observed. They were rendered ineffective to analyze. Instead, he posited that we should focus on the overt observable effect of those mental states and study them as proof of learning. Contrary to Watson who focused on the stimulus that produced a response. Skinner focused on the behavior (or the operant) and how it was reinforced. Positive reinforcement (praise, rewards…) strengthen behavior or increases the likelihood that the behavior will be repeated. Negative reinforcement or (punishment) pushes a child away from a behavior. 2) Classical Conditioning by Pavlov Pavlov observed that if a piece of meat was placed in or near the mouth of a hungry dog, the latter would salivate because the meat provoked this response automatically. ✓ The piece of meat is referred to as an unconditioned stimulus. ✓ This response of salivating is referred to as an unconditioned response. ✓ Other stimuli such as a bell will not produce salivation because these stimuli have no effect on the response in question, they are referred to as neutral stimuli. ❖ Pavlov experiment showed that if a ‘previously neutral stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus’, the neutral stimulus becomes conditioned stimulus and gain the power to prompt a response similar to that produced by the unconditioned stimulus. In other words, after the bell and the meat are presented together, the ringing of the bell alone causes the dog to salivate. This response is referred to as Classical Conditioning. 3) The law of Effect by Thorndike In many of his experiments, Thorndike placed cats in boxes from which they had to escape to get food. He observed that over time cats learned how to get out of the box more and more quickly by repeating the behavior that led to escape and not repeating the behaviors that were ineffective. Thorndike developed his Law of Effect which states that ‘if an act is followed by a satisfying change in the environment (favorable effect) the likelihood that the act will be repeated in similar situations increases’ and vice versa. ii. Cognitivism Cognitivism was coined by Canny. It came as a reaction to the behaviorist thought which ignores human’s innate capacity to acquire language which also neglects the mental process of learning. Cognitivism argues that language is not just a learned habit devoid of creativity. It also suggests that humans are endowed with LAD (language Acquisition Device) which helps them not only learn whatever language they want but also use them creatively and not just imitating what’s being said around them, this is because they are constantly using their cognitive abilities to think and creatively manipulate language. Cognitivism emphasize the idea “of making knowledge meaningful and helping learners to organize and relate the new information to the existing knowledge in Memory”. Information Processing: focuses on how information is retrieved and stored in the mind. Learning is attained through rehearsal and consistent use of the information. iii. Innatism Noam Chomsky’s view of language and language learning is termed ‘innatism’. Innatism stated that humans are innately endowed with the power of language learning. Chomsky stated that we humans are not born with a language, instead “our mind has the innate capacity to hypothesize and discover rules based on the language we have received”. The ability to create new language depends on “intuitive knowledge of rules”. Given that children are exposed to ‘messy’ language in use. It is notable that with some ‘Trial and Error’, in relatively short period of time, children are able to discover rules of language which are inevitably correct. This realization led Chomsky to hypothesize about the existence of an innate ‘language acquisition device’ responsible for supporting the existence of Universal Grammar, the latter shapes all human languages in much the same way as we are born with the ability to learn to run. For Chomsky there is a difference between Competence and Performance: Competence: knowledge of language, It’s an individual’s innate capacity and potential for language. Performance: the actual use of that knowledge for communication, it’s the specific way in which is used by individual, group or community. Our linguistic Competence allows us to create completely original sentences we have never heard of before. iv. Constructivism Jean Piaget is considered the pioneer of this learning theory. Schemata_ the things a child already knows, Ss connect new knowledge to an existing schema. Also Ss learn by doing rather than by being told. ✓ Constructivism states that learners of language should construct knowledge of language by themselves through exposure to the world or people and to languages (experiences and interaction), in this way the learners improve their linguistic knowledge. Therefore, we can say that people learn from one another and not in isolation from others. Discovery approach (inductive), a teacher should not give knowledge to students but let them find it out by themselves. So, a teacher here is just a Guide. ✓ Development precedes learning: humans need to develop their cognitive abilities then they can learn, in other words, until a learner reaches a cognitive stage in which s/he has certain mechanisms that will enable him/her to understand the language very well. According to Piaget, children shape their own conceptions of reality through continuous interaction with their environment. ✓ Piaget carried out his studies with children and adolescents and concluded that Learning is a mat er of two interrelated processes: Assimilation & Accommodation. Assimilation is the taking of new information or experiences and incorporating them into our existing knowledge bank or schemata. Encountering this new information causes an imbalance in our schemata. hence, through the experiential process we progressively accommodate this new knowledge or experience so as to re-establish balance in our cognitive through a process called Accommodation. This process entails changing our existing schemata or ideas because of new knowledge or experience. Piaget outlined several principles for building cognitive structures. During all developmental stages, the child experiences his/her environment using whatever mental maps s/he has constructed so far. If the experience is a repeated one, it fits easily (assimilated) into the child’s cognitive structure, so that the child maintains mental equilibrium. However, if the experience is different or new, the child loses equilibrium hence disequilibrium and alters his/her cognitive structure to accommodate the new conditions.  ❖ The constructivist approach is based on the premise that: By reflecting on our experiences, we construct our own understanding of the world we live in. The stages of Development Piaget talked about the stages of development and stated that children move from one stage to the next through maturation and exploration, he identified the following stages: 1. Sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years of age) Children experience the world through their five senses. Children move from simple reflexes to progressively developing control over their senses. Children do not know how things will react therefore they are always experimenting shaking things, putting them in their mouths or throwing them away. Their learning is mainly by trial and error. Children are very egocentric, i.e. they cannot perceive the world through other’s points of view. 2. Preoperational stage (2 to 7 years old) Motor skills are developed Children’s imagination is at its peak during this period, but they cannot think logically yet. Children can pretend, verbalize and understand the past and future. However, cause and effect, time, comparison and other complex ideas are still out of reach. The child is not able to construct abstract ideas and to operate on them solely in the mind. The child works with the concrete, physical situation in front of him. Children are still egocentric, but this tendency decreases as they become older and begin to take perspective. 3. Concrete operational stage (7 to 11 years of age) Children begin to think logically if presented with practical, concrete aids. Children gain new competencies in thinking and become involved in events outside of their lives. The child can do subtraction, multiplication, division and addition of numbers. However, the ability to tackle a problem with several variables in a systematic way is unusual at this stage. They can perceive the world from others’ points of view, the egocentric phase disappears. 4. Formal operational stage (11 to 16 years old onwards) Children develop their abstract thinking and are fully capable of using logical thinking. They can understand methodology, formulate hypotheses, and think about possibilities and abstractions like justice. Egocentrism has disappeared and been replaced by a feeling of belonging to groups. v. Social Constructivism Levs. Vygotsky is considered the initiator of this theory. Zone of proximal development_ the range of skills that are a little bit difficult than what a student can do independently. Scaffolding_ changing the level of support to meet the ability of the child. Vygotsky posited that children lean their first languages by interacting with more linguistically knowledgeable people, that is to say they learn by interacting with people who knows language better than children do, and through engaging within society.  He also believed that both first and second languages are learned via social interaction. Environment is crucial in learning, so a learner has to be in productive interactive relationship with his/her peers, colleagues, parents… Learning a language requires a mediation by a more able party (parent, teacher, more knowledgeable peer) who provides a supportive framework for the learner until the new knowledge is appropriated at which point learning has occurred and the mediation can be removed. Learning precedes development, learning helps students to develop their mechanisms. vi. Krashen’s theory According to his theory, Steven Krashen stated that language is acquired through natural communication with others. Krashen’s theory of Second language acquisition consists of five main hypotheses: a) The Acquisition - Learning hypothesis According to Krashen there are two independent systems of foreign language performance: “the acquired system” and “the learned system”: ❖ The acquired system or ‘Acquisition’ is the product of a subconscious process very similar to the process children undergo when they acquired their first language. It requires “meaningful interaction” in the target language. Natural communication in which speakers are concentrated not in the form of their utterances, but in the communicative act, (the messages they’re conveying and understanding). Language acquirers are not consciously aware of the grammatical rules of the language; but rather develop a ‘feel’ for correctness. “in non-technical language, acquisition is ‘picking up’ a language. Language, unconscious process developed through using language meaningfully. ❖ The learned system or ‘Learning’ is the product of formal instruction and it comprises a conscious process which results in conscious knowledge about the language, for example knowledge of grammar rules. Conscious learning or discovering rules about language. A deductive approach is a teacher-centered setting that produces learning. While an inductive approach is a student-centered setting, it leads to acquisition. Language acquisition is the only way competence can develop. According to Krashen, learning is less important than acquisition. b) The Monitor hypothesis Language and acquisition play different roles, acquisition allows us to speak the language. The monitor comes from learning the language and is like a ‘mental editor’ checking out rules as we speak or write. ✓ The monitor hypothesis explains the relationship between acquisition and learning and defines the influence of the latter on the former. ✓ The monitoring function is the practical result of thelearned grammar. ✓ According to Krashen, the acquisition system is ‘the utterance initiator’, while the learning system performs the role of ‘the monitor editor’. ✓ The monitor acts in a planning, editing and correcting function (it controls everything we want to utter before we produce it). when three specific conditions are met: The second language learner has sufficient time at their disposal, (no pressure). They focus on form, or think about correctness, (produce well-formed sentences). They know the rule. c) The input hypothesis  Krashen attempts to explain how learner acquires a second language. The input hypothesis is only concerned with ‘acquisition’ not ‘learning’. According to this hypothesis, the learner improves and progresses along ‘the natural input’ when s/he receives second language input: that is one step beyond her/his current stage of linguistic competence. For example, if a learner is at stage “i”, then acquisition takes place when s/he is exposed to “comprehensible input” that belongs to level “i+1”. Learners receive language only in one way, this happens when they receive oral or written messages that they understand. d) The affective filter Krashen claims that learners with high motivation, self-confidence and good self-image, a low level of anxiety and extroversion are better equipped for success in second language acquisition. However, low motivation, low self-esteem, anxiety, introversion and inhibition can raise the effective filter and form a ‘mental block’ that prevent the comprehensible input from being used for acquisition. In other words, whenever the affective filter is ‘up’ it hinders language acquisition, on the other hand, positive effect is necessary for acquisition to take place (not sufficient in its own) by may make the filter down. e) The natural order hypothesis The grammatical structures follow a ‘natural order’ which is predictable. For a given language, some grammatical structures tend to be acquired early while others late. This order seemed to be independent of the learner’s age. L1 background, conditions of exposure… The natural order hypothesis states the order in which learners can acquire the grammatical skills before others. According to Krashen’s theory “what you teach may not be acquired If the student is not ready”. Therefore, it’s important that the teachers know where their student are in the learning process. The learners acquire the language naturally and not artificially, it means that ‘there are substructures that must be acquired before others’, for instance, we cannot learn irregular verbs before regular ones. However, Krashen provides the opposite theory and he states that acquisition does not follow this order which means we still can start with irregular and then regular verbs. For Krashen there is a natural order but when we design the syllabus and the textbooks, we are not obliged to follow this order. vii. Multiple intelligences theory “humans have several ways of processing information; (visual, verbal, musical, logical etc.)” a. The definition of intelligence Intelligence is the ability to learn and understand new knowledge and information, or to deal with a new situation. Being able to acquire what you’ve acquired and learned so as to find solutions to new situations/ dilemma, and adapt with new environment. Intelligence is mixed abilities, classes, different learners’ mentalities, levels and backgrounds. According to Gardner: “we are all so different largely because we all have different combinations of intelligences”. b. Types of intelligences 1) Naturalist intelligence: Designates the human ability to discriminate among living things (plants, animals). The ability to identify and distinguish among different types of plants, animals and weather formation that are found in the natural world. (understanding and passion for nature and its elements).  2) Musical intelligence: the capacity to design pitch, rhythm, tone. It Is the ability to produce, remember and make meaning of different patterns of sounds, and to be able to recognize simple songs, and vary speed, tempo and rhythm in simple melodies. (they express their feelings when exposed to music). 3) Logical-M athematical intelligence: the ability to calculate, quantify, consider, carry out complete mathematical operations. It is the capacity to detect patterns, reason deductively and think logically, develop equations and proofs, make calculations and solve abstract problems. 4) Existential intelligence: Sensitivity, capacity to tackle deep Question about human existence as the meaning of life and death… 5) I nterpersonal intelligence: the ability to understand, interact effectively with others. To harmonize with others, to understand, perceive, discriminate between people’s moods, feelings, motives. 6) I ntra-personal intelligence: the capacity to understand oneself and one’s thoughts, desires, fears, capacities, feelings and to use such knowledge in planning and directing one’s life. (within oneself). 7) B odily-K inaesthetic intelligence: the capacity to manipulate objects and use variety of physical skills, use of non-verbal language to express one’s feelings and thoughts. It’s the ability to use one’s whole body to express ideas and feelings, and facility in using one’s hands to produce and transform things. (people with such intelligence have control of their bodies and are able to handle objects in a skillful way. 8) express Verbal-Linguistic intelligence: and appreciate the ability to think in words and to use language to complex meaning. It is the capacity to use words effectively, whether orally or in writing. This involves good mastery of language. 9) Visual-Spatial intelligence: the ability to think in three dimensions, to perceive all the elements necessary to create a mental image of something. It’s the capacity to sense form, space, color, line and shape. It has to do with pictures, either pictures in one’s mind or in the external world, photos, movies, drawings, graphic symbols, idiographic language. (use of imagination; to create a mental image of the external world). viii. Acculturation: It was founded by John Schumann. Learning languages according to this theory is through adapting to a new culture. For example, immigrants from different countries when they come to a certain country, they learn the new language through engaging within that culture. III. Teaching Methods 1. Grammar Translation Method (the classical method) Grammar translation method is a method of second or foreign language teaching which makes use of translation and grammar study as the main teaching and learning activities. It is one of the most traditional method, dating back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was used to teach Latin and Greek, also it was used for the purpose of helping students read and appreciate foreign language literature, but later on it had become the standard way of studying foreign language in schools. ❖ The principles: Classes are taught in the students’ mother tongue with little active use of the target language, (excessive use of MT through translation). Much vocabulary is taught in the form of isolated word lists. Little or no attention is paid to pronunciation, (communication isn’t a goal).  Often the only drills are exercises translating disconnected sentences from the target language into the mother language, (lots of mechanical repetition to reinforce structures). Grammar provides the rules for putting words together, and instruction often focuses on the form and inflections of words, (emphasis on the structure of a language). Little attention is paid to the content of texts, which are treated as exercises in grammatical analysis, (focus on grammatical structure within the text. So, the syllabus is structured-based). Reading and writing are prioritized, little attention is given to speaking and listening. Therefore, reading of difficult classical texts begun early, (Ss can be introduced to reading right from the start, even before mastering listening and speaking). Literary language is superior to spoken language. The teacher’s role is “the controller” and the main source of knowledge and learning, (s/he is the superior authority in the classroom, and Ss are passive receivers of the new information). Language learning provides a good ‘mental exercise’, and sharpens the students’ memory through memorization, (cognitive benefits). Deductive teaching of rules. Learning is facilitated through similarities between TL and NL, and it is also possible to find equivalent for all TL words, (Cognates=spelling, sound patterns that correspond between languages). Very little student-teacher and student-student interaction, (everything is provided in the textbooks). Accuracy is emphasized, (being accurate is crucial than being fluent). ❖ Limitations: ✓ The method does not help students enhance their communicative skills in language, (speaking or oral communication is neglected). ✓ Extensive memorization of vocabulary lists containing the equivalent meaning of words in the TL, and unusable rules (conjugation, tenses and strict rules). ✓ Not all teachers are good at translating and some don’t know students’ L1. ✓ The use of first language keeps Ss under its dominance. ❖ Techniques: Translation of literary passage. Use of L1. Reading comprehension questions (information – inferences opinion – personal experience). Reading activities. Synonyms/ antonyms. Cognates, spelling/ sound patterns that corresponds between languages. Fill in the blanks with vocabulary and grammar items. Memorization: vocabulary words and their equivalents in the target language. Deductive teaching of grammar rules. Composition: writing skills.