Teaching Methods
What are the teaching methods?
The types of principles used for instruction are called teaching methods. There are many
teaching methods depending on what information or skill the teacher is trying to convey. The
teacher may be flexible and willing to adjust their style according to their students. Effective
teaching is the base in the success of a student. Here we are going to discuss four teaching
methods:
1. Grammar Translation Method
2. Direct Method
3. Audio Lingual Method
4. Communicative Approach
Grammar Translation Method:
The GTM is not new one. Language teachers have used it for many years. It was
first used in the teaching of the Classical Language, Latin and Greek. So, it was called
Classical Method. In the earlier centuries this method was used for the purpose of helping
students in reading foreign language literature. It was also hoped that through the study of
grammar, students would become more familiar with the grammar of their native
language.
This method came to India along with the English men. They were accustomed to
this method because they had already been learning Greek and Latin language by this
method.
Purpose of GTM:
The purpose of G.T.M. was to know everything about some thing rather than the
thing itself. According to Stern (1983) “The first language is maintained as the reference
system in the acquisition of the second language.”
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Characteristics of GTM:
1. In Grammar Translation Method the structure of the foreign language are taught by
comparing and contrasting with those of the mother tongue.
2. Reading and writing are the major focus; little or no systematic attention is paid to
listening or speaking.
3. Vocabulary selection is based solely on the reading text used, and words are taught
through bilingual word lists, dictionary study, and memorization. Vocabulary terms
are presented with their translation equivalents, and translation exercises are
prescribed.
4. More stress is on the sentence structure, because the sentence is the basic unit of
teaching and language practice. According to Howatt (1984:131) “The central feature
was the replacement of the traditional texts by examplifactory sentence.”
5. As the students are taught each and everything by translating in the mother tongue, so
the teachers raise their expectations high about the students. Howatt (1984:132) “ The
high priority attached to meticulous standard of accuracy which, as well as having an
intrinsic moral value, was a pre-requisite for passing the increasing number of formal
written examination that grew up during the century.”
6. GTM is the deductive way of teaching a language, means that language is taught
trough rules rather than use.
7. The student’s native language is the medium of instruction. New items are explained
by comparing and contrasting with those of native tongue and target language.
8. GTM is a very easy method. It proceeds from known to unknown. As a child already
known his mother tongue and now he learns the equivalents in the target language.
9. As the difficult and lengthy definitions are avoided in GTM the vocabulary is
acquired economically and effectively. Students can easily get the exact meaning of
the words.
10. The teacher feels at ease while teaching through GTM because they need not to labor
for preparing their lesson and to find out new ways for explaining the words. They
also need to collect different A.V. aids for the preparation of their lesson.
11. In GTM at the early stages the teacher can easily evaluate the students by asking
questions in their native language.
Disadvantages of Grammar Translation Method:
1. In GTM much attention is not paid to oral activities or drill work, through out the
class the students are focused on reading and writing. Nothing type of
conversational session is held.
Internship English Language Teaching (ENG-430)
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2. The students become use to of thinking every thing in their native language first
instead of the target language.
3. It becomes much difficult to translation each and every thing in the native
language or in the target language for e.g. the idiomatic expressions can not be
translated exactly.
4. GTM teaches the language by rules rather than by use.
5. Teaching through GTM makes students passive listeners because they are not
motivated to speak in the class, most of the time the teacher be the active person
in the class.
6. As nothing type of A.V. aids are used in GTM to make lesson interesting so it
seems very dull and boring.
Direct method:
When GTM lost its popularity in America towards middle of the 19th century,
teachers set themselves for inventing some better method exactly on the lines on which a
child learns his mother tongue. The minister of public instruction of France was the first
to use the name the “Direct Method”. This method originated in France in 1901. (Ref.
Teaching of English by Shabir Ahmed Jaral)
Definition:
“Direct Method is a method of teaching a foreign language especially a modern
language through conversations, discussion and reading in the language itself, without the
use of the pupil’s language, without translation and without the study of formal grammar.
The words are taught by pointing to objects or pictures or by performing actions.”
(Webster’s New English Dictionary).
Characteristics of Direct Method:
1. Direct method is a natural method as it follows the natural principle of
learning, listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
2. DM. is an inductive method as it teaches the language by use rather than by
rule.
3. Being a natural method DM. lays emphasis on oral teaching. The learners are
strictly motivated to speak in the target language.
4. As there is much emphasis on oral training so the pronunciation of the
learners improves a lot. For this purpose a model from a native speaker of the
target language may be presented in the class.
5. The target language is taught through the real life examples and different
objects.
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6. In DM. teaching the learners become very active because they have to
participate in all oral sessions.
7. DM. aims at the direct bond experience and expression, and learners are
strictly motivated to think in the target language. There is no intervention of
mother tongue in this method.
8. The sentence is the part of speech so learners are forced to answer in the full
sentence form instead of yes/ no.
9. Thinking in the target language improves writing skills as well. If someone
can express oneself in speaking he can do in writing too.
10. Different types of A.V. aids are used in DM. which make the lesson
interesting. It a fact the things learnt through images are remembered for a
long time.
Draw backs of Direct Method:
Some drawbacks of DM. are as under:
1. DM. mostly emphasizes on oral training (listening, speaking) so the other
activities (reading, writing) are left behind.
2. All the teachers can teach through this method, only the teachers who are
competent in conversational skills can adopt this method.
3. As different A.V. aids are used in this method, and mostly are expensive so
every teacher or institution can not afford the expenditures.
4. Individual attention is very important for this method so the classes having the
small number of students are required for this method.
Audio lingual method:
The term ALM was coined by Nelson Brookes. The ALM was developed in the
United States during 2nd world war. At the time there was a need for people to learn
foreign language rapidly for military purposes.
Theory of Language:
The theory of Audio-lingualism was derived by American linguists in the 1950s. A view
that came to be known as Structural Linguistics (a reaction to Traditional Grammar) As
linguistics discovered new sound-types and new patterns of linguistic inventions and
organization, a new interest in phonetic, phonology, morphology and syntax developed.
By 1930s, the structural analysis was promoted rather than the grammatical ones.
Language was viewed as a system of structurally-related elements for encoding of
meanings, the elements being phonemes, morphemes, words, structures and sentence
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type. Primary medium of language is oral. Learning speaking precedes learning reading
and writing.
Theory of Learning:
Behaviorism like structural linguistics is another anti-mentalist, empirically based
approach to the study of human behavior. To the behaviorist, the human being is an
organism capable of a wide repertoire of behaviors. The occurrence of these behaviors is
dependent on three crucial steps in learning. Stimulus_ Response_ Reinforcement
Re-inforcement is a vital element in the learning process, because it increases the
likelihood that the behavior will occur again and again and eventually become a habit.
Language mastery is represented as acquiring a set of appropriate language stimulus
response chain.
Salient Features of Audio-Lingual Method:
1. According to Audio-Lingual Method it becomes more effective for the learner
if the items to be learned in the target language are presented in form before
they are presented in spoken form before they are seen in written form.
2. Explanations of rules are therefore not given until students have practiced a
pattern in a variety of context.
3. Audio-lingual method emphasis on certain practice techniques, mimicry,
memorization and pattern drills.
4. The use of dialogues as the chief means of presenting the language. Through
dialogue exchange the learners can easily memorize the sentence structure.
5. The purpose of the language learning is to learn how to use the language to
communicate.
6. To seek out the native like pronunciation the native speaker as a model is
represented in the class and the learners learn the native pronunciation by
mimicry.
7. The learners are motivated to set a habit of answering in the target language
with out any interference of the mother tongue.
8. Correct pronunciation, stress, rhythm, and intonation are emphasizedthe use of
drills and pattern practice is a distinctive feature of the Audio-Lingual
Method.
9. Various kinds of drills such as repetition, inflection, replacement,
restatement, completion etc. are used in this method.
10. Correction of mistakes of pronunciation or grammar is direct and immediate.
Internship English Language Teaching (ENG-430)
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Major Contributions of Audio-Lingual Method:
H. H. Stern (1983) has summed up the major contribution of Audio-Lingualism to
language teaching thus:
1. Theory based on linguistic and psychological principles
2. Stressed syntactical progression
3. Simple techniques
4. Auditory and oral practice
Criticism on Audio-Lingual Method:
Albert Valdman (1964) has questioned the excessive emphasis on oral drilling in
Audio-Lingual teaching. Drills are inherently unnatural and contrived examples of the
use of language. Audio-Lingual Method is based on the techniques of memorization
and drilling can be tedious and boring. The practitioners found that the practical result
fell short of expectations. The students were often found to be unable to transfer skills
acquired through to Audio-Lingualism to real communication out side the classroom.
Noam Chomsky rejected the structuralist approach to language description as well
as the behaviorist theory of language learning. According to Chomsky sentences are
not learned by imitation and repetition but “generated” from the learner’s underlying
“competence.”
Communicative Approach:
The origins of this approach are to be found in the changes in the British language
teaching. The primary goal of this approach is to enable the students to communicate
using the target language.
Theory of Language:
The goal of language teaching is communicative competence. (Hymes’, 1972)
Hymes’ theory of communicative approach was a definition of what a speaker needs to
know in order to be communicatively competent in a speech community. It was a contrast
view of Chomsky’s theory of competence. For Chomsky, the focus of Linguistic Theory
was to characterize the abstract abilities speakers possess that enable them to produce
grammatically correct sentences in a language.
Theory of Learning:
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In this theory, the focus was on what the learner needed to understand and express
through the target language and not on the accumulation of grammatical items or
functions.
Salient Features of Communicative Approach:
1. The major purpose of communicative approach is to make the learner
effective speakers.
2. Language acquisition is desired rather than to learn the language and
interaction is encouraged.
3. All the four skills are given due importance to raise the confidence of the
learner.
4. A speaker is given the choice not only about what to say, but how to say.
5. The students become active because they are engaged to different activities.
6. This approach pays systematic attention to functional as well as structural
aspects of language.
7. Noting type of books is used to teach the language. Mostly the learning is
through the games.
8. Translation may be used where students need or benefit from it.
Note:
For more understanding of Language Methods read Techniques and Principles in Language
Teaching by Diane Larsen-Freeman or consult your teacher to have the notes on Teaching
Methods.
Internship English Language Teaching (ENG-430)
Instructor: Moazzam Ali
(m_linguist@yahoo.com; www.uogenglish.wordpress.com)
Internship English Language Teaching (ENG-430)
Instructor: Moazzam Ali
(m_linguist@yahoo.com; www.uogenglish.wordpress.com)