Methods and
Approaches
Proponents
Goals/ Characteristics
Teacher’s Roles
Student’s Roles
Sample Activities
1.
Grammar
Translation
Method
Johann
Seidenstucker, Karl
Plotz, H.S.
Ollendorf, and
Johann Medinger
Its fundamental purpose of
learning a foreign language
is to be able to read literature
written in the target
language. To do this
students need to learn about
the grammar rules and
vocabulary of the target
language; studying foreign
language provides students
with good mental exercises
which helps develop their
minds.
Authority in the
classroom
The teacher is in
command. Thus, a
teacher centered
environment.
The students do as the
teacher says
Translation of a literary
passage
Reading comprehensions
Questions
Antonyms/ synonyms
Cognates
Deductive application of the
rule
Fill-in-the-blanks
Memorization
Use words in sentences
Composition
2.
Direct Method
F. Frank
In this method the teaching is
done entirely in the target
language. The learner is not
allowed to use his or her
mother tongue. Grammar
rules are avoided and there
is emphasis on good
pronunciation.
The teacher directs the
classroom activities
Students are less passive.
The teachers and students
are more like partners in
the educative process
Reading aloud
Question and Answer
Getting students to self
correct
Conversation practice
Map drawing
Paragraph writing
3.
Audio Lingual
Method
Charles Fries and
other structuralists
The theory behind this
method is that learning a
language means acquiring
habits. There is much
practice of dialogues of every
situation. New language is
first heard and extensively
drilled before being seen in
its written form; use the
target language
communicatively.
The role of the teacher
is central and active; it is
a teacher-dominated
method. The teacher
models the target
language, controls the
directions and pace of
learning, and corrects
the learners’
performance.
Learners are viewed as
organisms that can be3
directed by skilled training
techniques to produce
correct responses.
Dialogue memorization
Repetition drill
Chain drill
Single-shot substitution drill
Multiple-slot substitution
drill
Question and answer
Use of minimal pairs
Complete the dialog
Grammar games
In this method attempts are
made to build strong
personal links between the
teacher and student so that
there are no blocks to
learning. There is much talk
in the mother tongue which is
translated by the teacher for
repetition by the student.
The teacher’s initial role
is that of a counselor;
the teacher skillfully
understands and
supports his students in
their struggle to master
the target language.
Initially, the learner is
dependent on the teacher.
He is a client of the
counselor.
Tape-recording
Conversation
Transcription
Reflective listening
Human computer
Small group tasks
4.
Community
Language
Learning
Charles A. Curren
5.
Oral
Approach and
Situational
Language
Learning
Harold Palmer and
A.S. Homby
A practical command of the
four basic skills of a
language, through structure
Accuracy in both
Pronunciation and grammar
Ability to respond quickly and
accuracy in speech situations
Automatic control of basic
structures and sentence
patterns.
The teacher’s functions
is threefold; serves as a
model setting up
situations in which the
target structure is
created and then
modeling the new
structure for the
students to repeat. The
teacher is required to be
a skillful manipulator.
In the initial stage the
learner is only required to
listen and repeat. Later,
more active participation is
encouraged.
Listening practice
Choral imitation
Individual imitation
Isolation
Building up to a new model
Elicitation
Substitution drilling
Question and answer
drilling
Correction
6.
Total Physical
Approach
James Asher
TPR works by having the
learner respond to simple
commands such as "Stand
up", "Close your book", "Go
to the window and open it."
The method stresses the
importance of aural
comprehension.
Provide the best kind of
exposure to language so
that the learner can
internalize the basic
rules of the target
language.
They are performers and
listeners.
Using commands and direct
behavior
Role reversal
Action sequence
7.
Silent way
Caleb Gattegno
This is so called because the
aim of the teacher is to say
as little as possible in order
that the learner can be in
control of what he wants to
The teacher should be
silent. His tasks are to
teach, to test, and to get
out of the way. A
teacher is like a
To make use of what they
know, to free themselves of
any obstacles that would
interfere with giving their
utmost attention to the
Sound color charts
Teacher’s silence
Peer correction
Rods
Self-correction gestures
8. Suggestopedia
Georgi Lozanov
say. No use is made of the
mother tongue. An
immediate objective is to
provide the learner with a
basic practical knowledge of
the grammar.
complete dramatist.
learning task and to
actively engage in
exploring the language.
Word chart
Fidel charts
Structured feedbacks
Suggestopedia is from
George Lozanov. He
believes that language
learning can occur at a much
faster rate than what
ordinarily transpires. He
created a method or learning
capitalizes on relaxed states
of mind for maximum
retention of materials. Music
was central to his method
Suggestopedia is the
application of the study of
suggestion to pedagogy.
These are some of its
characteristics.
The teacher is the
authority in the
classroom.
Students must trust and
respect the teacher and the
students will retain
information better from
someone in whom they
have confidence.
Classroom set-up
Peripheral learning
Positive suggestion
Visualization
Choose a new identity
Role-play
First concert
Second concert
Primary concert
Secondary concert
Learning is facilitated in a
relaxed, comfortable
environment.
Students can learn from what
is present in the
environment, even if his
attention is not directed to it.
Fantasy reduces barriers to
learning.
Music and movement
reinforce the linguistic
material. It is desirable that
students achieve a state in
infantalization so they will be
more open to learning.
In an atmosphere of play the
conscious attention of the
learner does not focus on
linguistic forms but rather on
using the language.
Language can be fun.
9. Communicative
Language Teaching
Del Hymes,
Halliday
in this approach, it is
acknowledged that structures
and vocabulary are
important, but learners
cannot use the language with
the rules of language usage
alone. Learners should
accomplish some functions
like arguing, persuading, or
promising, etc. The following
are some of the
characteristics of the
communicative approach:
Students are given
opportunities to express;
whenever possible, authentic
materials are used; authentic
language as it is used in real
context should be introduced.
The teacher is the
facilitator.
Communicators negotiating
meaning.
Games
Role plays
Simulations
Task-based communication
Oral production activities
10. Natural Approach
Tracy Terrell and
Stephen Krashen
Manifested the major
methodological offshoot of
Krashen’s work. Here are
some of the distinguishing
concepts of this approach.
Learners benefit from
delaying production until
speeches emerges.
Learners should be as
relaxed as possible in the
classroom.
A great deal of
communication and
acquisition should take place
as opposed to analysis.
It advocates the use of TPR
activities at the beginning
level of language learning
when comprehensible input
The primary source of
comprehensible input in
the target language.
They provide information
about their specific goals
so that acquisition activities
can focus on the topics ans
situations most relevant to
their needs.
Comprehensible input is
presented in the target
language, using techniques
like TPR, mime, gestures
etc.
is essential for triggering the
acquisition of language.
It aims at the goal of basic
interpersonal communication
skills or everyday language
situation like conversations,
shopping, listening to the
radio.
The teacher’s initial task is to
provide comprehensible input
or spoken language that is
understandable to the
learner, or just beyond the
learner’s level.
11. Task-Based
Language Learning
Willis and Nunan et
al.
The focus of the teaching is
on the completion of a task
which in itself is interesting to
the learners. Learners use
the language they already
have to complete the task
and there is little correction of
errors. This is the
predominant method in
middle school ESL teaching
at Frankfurt International
School. The tasks are
subsumed in a major topic
that is studied for a number
of weeks. In the topic of
ecology, for example,
students are engaged in a
number of tasks culminating
in a poster presentation to
the rest of the class. The
tasks include reading,
searching the internet,
listening to taped material,
selecting important
vocabulary to teach other
students etc.
Selector and sequence
of tasks
Group participant
Monitor
Risk-taker and innovator
Jigsaw tasks
Information-gap tasks
Problem solving tasks
Decision-making tasks
Opinion exchange tasks