General Approaches to the Teaching of the English Language Kristel C. Suelto Topics 1. Grammar-translation Method / Classical Method 2. Audio-lingual Method 3. Communicative Language Teaching 4. Task-Based Language Teaching APPROACH METHOD PROCEDURE refers to theories about the nature of language and language learning that serve as the source of practices and principles in language teaching. advocates the use of certain types of teaching activities as a consequence of its theoretical assumptions about language and learning. Example: Example: Classical Method encompasses the actual moment to moment techniques, practices, and behaviors that operate in teaching a language according to a particular method. It is the level at which we describe how a method realizes its approach and design in classroom behavior. Behaviorism Example: Translation of a Literary Passage Classical Method • first used in the teaching of the classical languages (Latin & Greek) • helped students read and appreciate foreign language literature • also called GrammarTranslation Method Sample Lesson Plan Principle 1. A Students read an excerpt entitled “The Boys’ Ambition” from Mark Twain’s Life on the Mississippi. fundamental purpose of learning a foreign language is to be able to read its literature. Literary language is superior to spoken language. Students’ study of the foreign culture is limited to its literature and fine arts. Sample Lesson Plan Principle 2. An important goal is for students Each student is called on to read a few lines and translate it to Spanish (native language). Teacher helps him with vocabulary. to be able to translate each language into the other. If students can translate from one language into another, they are considered successful language learners. Sample Lesson Plan Principle 3. The ability to communicate in Teacher asks if they have any the target language is not a questions. One girl asks, “What goal is a paddle wheel?”. Teacher instruction. replied and explained. of foreign language Sample Lesson Plan Principle 4. The The students answer three developed are reading and types of comprehension writing. Little attention is given questions using the target to speaking and listening, and language. almost none to pronunciation. primary skills to be Sample Lesson Plan Principle 5. The teacher is the authority Student checks their work. If he is in the classroom. It is very correct, the teacher calls another important that students get to answer the next question. If incorrect, the teacher selects a different student or the teacher herself gives the answer. the correct answer. Sample Lesson Plan Principle 6. It is possible to find native Teacher gives another activity. The language equivalents for all students are given a list of vocabulary words. They are to give the Spanish equivalent. Another set of words are given and they students are directed to give the opposites. target language words. Sample Lesson Plan Principle 7. Teacher discusses the similarity of grammar. Learning is facilitated through English “-ity” : possibility Spanish “-dad” & “-tad” : posibilidad Exhaustion of all cognates found in the passage. attention to similarities between the target language and the native language. Sample Lesson Plan Principle 8. Learning is facilitated through A list of cognates are given attention which the students are to between the target language translate to Spanish. and the native language. to similarities Sample Lesson Plan Principle 9. It is important for students Activity: to learn about the form of Translation of two-word or the target language. phrasal verbs. Rule for the use of direct object with two-word verbs are given. Sample Lesson Plan Principle 10. Deductive application of an Activity: explicit Fill-in-the-blanks using the useful phrasal verbs. technique. grammar rule is pedagogical Sample Lesson Plan Principle 11. Language learning provides Homework: good mental exercise. Memorize the Spanish translation of given words and write a sentence in English. AudioLingual Method • Army Method • Applied structural linguistics to language teaching • Structure is the starting point where structure of the language was identified with its basic sentence patterns and grammatical structures • Systematic attention to pronunciation and by intensive oral drilling of its core sentence patterns • General form: lesson began with the work on pronunciation, morphology, and grammar, followed by drills and exercises • It entails blocks of by which phoneme sentence mastering the elements or building the language and learning the rules these elements are combined, from to morpheme to word to phrase to • Classroom practices: dialogues used repetition and memorization, and drills for Drills • • • • • • • • • Repetition Inflection Replacement Restatement Completion Transposition Expansion Contraction Transformation • Integration • Rejoinder • “Be Polite” • “Answer the Question” • “Agree Examples” • Restoration Sample Lesson Plan Procedures 1. Students first hear a model dialogue (either read or on tape). They repeat each line individually and in chorus. Teacher pays attention to pronunciation, intonation, and fluency. Correction of mistakes is direct and immediate. The dialogue is memorized eventually. Dialogue is read aloud in chorus, one half saying one speaker’s part, and the other half responding. Students do no consult a book throughout this phase. Procedures 2. Dialogue is adapted to the student’s interest or situation, through changing certain key words of phrases. This is acted out by the students. Procedures 3. Certain key structures from the dialogue are selected and used as the basis for pattern drills of different kinds. These are first practiced in chorus and then individually. Some grammatical explanation may be offered at this point, but this is kept to an absolute minimum. Procedures 4. The students may refer to their textbook, and follow-up reading, writing, or vocabulary activities based on the dialogue may be introduced. Beginning level – writing is purely imitative and copying out practiced sentences Proficiency increases – variations of structural items Procedures 5. Follow-up activities may take place in the language laboratory where further dialogue and drill work is carried out. Community Language Teaching • an approach to the teaching of second and foreign languages, emphasizes interaction as both the means and the ultimate goal of learning a language • referred to “Communicative Approach” as Communicative Language Teaching 1. Meaning is paramount. 2. Dialogs, if used, center around communicative functions and are not normally memorized. 3. Contextualization is a basic premise. 4. Language learning is learning to communicate. 5. Effective communication is sought. Audio-lingual Method Attends to structure and form more than meaning. Demands memorization of structure-based dialogs. Language items are not necessarily contextualized. Language learning is learning structures, sounds, or words. Mastery, or ‘over-learning” is sought. Communicative Language Teaching 6. Drilling may occur, but peripherally. 7. Comprehensible pronunciation is sought. 8. Any device which helps the learners is accepted – varying according to their age, interest, etc. 9. Attempts to communicate may be encouraged from the very beginning. Audio-lingual Method Drilling is a central technique. Native-speaker-like pronunciation is sought. Grammatical explanation is avoided. Communicative activities only come after a long process of rigid drills and exercises. Communicative Language Teaching 10. Judicious use of native language is accepted where feasible. 11. Translation may be used where students need or benefit from it. 12. Reading and writing can start from the first day, if desired. 13. The target linguistic system will be learned best through the process of struggling to communicate. Audio-lingual Method The use of the student’s native language is forbidden. Translation is forbidden at early levels. Reading and writing are deferred till speech is mastered. The target linguistic system will be learned through the overt teaching of the patterns of the system. Communicative Language Teaching 14. Communicative competence is the desired goal (i.e. the ability to use the linguistic system effectively and appropriately). 15. Linguistic variation is a central concept in materials and methodology. 16. Sequencing is determined by any consideration of content, function, or meaning which maintains interest. Audio-lingual Method Linguistic competence is the desired goal. Varieties of language are recognized but not emphasized. The sequence of units is determined solely by principles of linguistic complexity. Communicative Language Teaching Audio-lingual Method The teacher controls the learners 17. Teachers help learners in any and prevents them from doing way that motivates them to anything that conflicts with the work with the language. theory. 18. Language is created by the “Language is habit” so errors individual often through trial must be prevented at all costs. and error. 19. Fluency and acceptable language is the primary goal: Accuracy, in terms of formal accuracy is judged not in the correctness, is a primary goal. abstract but in the context. Communicative Language Teaching 20. Students are expected to interact with other people, either in the flesh, through pair and group work, or in their writings. 21. The teacher cannot know exactly what language the students will use. 22. Intrinsic motivation will spring from an interest in what is being communicated by the language. Audio-lingual Method Students are expected to interact with the language system, embodied in machines or controlled materials. The teacher is expected to specify the language that students are to use. Intrinsic motivation will spring from an interest in the structure of the language. Variables Communication: activities that involve real communication promote learning. Tasks: activities in which language is used to carry out meaningful tasks supports the learning process. Meaning: language that is meaningful and authentic to the learner boosts learning. Principles Make real communication the focus of language learning Provide opportunities for learners to experiment and try out what they know Be tolerant of learners’ errors as they indicate that the learner is building up his or her communicative competence Provide opportunities for learners to develop both accuracy and fluency Link the different skills such as speaking, reading, and listening together, since they usually occur so in the real world Let students induce or discover grammar rules Sample Activity Students are divided into A-B pairs. The teacher has copied two sets of pictures. One set (for A students) contains a picture of a group of people. The other set (for B students) contains a similar picture but it contains a number of slight differences from the A-picture. Students must sit back to back and ask questions to try to find out how many differences there are between the two pictures. Students practice a role play in pairs. Sample Activity One student is given the information she/he needs to play the part of a clerk in the railway station information booth and has information on train departures, prices, etc. The other needs to obtain information on departure times, prices, etc. They role-play the interaction without looking at each other’s cue cards. Classroom Activities Role-play Jig-saw activities Interviews Task-completion activities Information gap Opinion-sharing activities Games Information-transfer activities Language exchanges Reasoning gap activities Surveys Role plays Pair-work Learning by teaching 1 SNAPSHOT Have you seen any of these movies? Did you enjoy them? What’s the most popular movie playing right now? Have you seen it? Did you plan to? Are there many movies made in your country? Name a few of your favorites? Task-Based Language Teaching • Focus is primarily on meaning exchange and to use the language for real-world, non-linguistic purposes. • Task is an activity or goal that is carried out using language, such as finding a solution to a puzzle, reading a map, giving directions, etc. Nature Communicative Approach • Language is a tool for expressing meanings Analytic Approach • Begins with analysis of the communicative need of the learner • Learner has to analyze or break down naturalistic chunk of language. Experiential Model • Teacher creates conditions for learning. • Learner-centered • Learning by doing Example of Activities Cognitive • • • • • • • • Classifying Predicting Inductive reasoning Taking notes Concept mapping Inferencing Discrimination Diagramming Interpersonal • • Co-operating Role Playing Affective • • • Personalizing Self-Evaluating Reflecting Example of Activities Linguistic Gap filling • • • • • • • • • Conversational Patterns Practicing Using Context Summarizing Selective Listening Skimming Creative • Brainstorming Information - gap activity Reasoning - gap activity Opinion – gap activity Example of Activities Listening and speaking activities such as: • • • • • jigsaw information-gap problem-solving decision-making opinion exchange tasks Example of Tasks 1. Taking tourists to the hotel for check in 2. Taking tourists on a day tour 3. Spot the difference 4. Listening to directions and drawing a route on a map 5. Designing personality quiz 6. Preparing for an oral examinations and doing problem-solving tasks 7. Doing web-based project 8. Sharing about experiences Sample Lesson Plan Sample Lesson Plan 1. Teacher greets class and conducts a quick review of the content dealt within the previous class. 2. Teacher checks homework orally with students. 3. Teacher Elicits information from the students (using realia, games, flashcard, etc.) 4. Teacher sets a pre-task (questions, gap-filling, exercise, tick the words your hear, etc.) for the listening 5. Tape is played a number of times as more challenging comprehension tasks are presented to learners. Learners get both the teacher and peer feedback (pair work) during the process. Sample Lesson Plan 6. Teacher reads aloud follow-up dialogue in the textbook (intended for pair work) and drills it with students 7. Learners are then asked to practice it in pairs. 8. Teacher walks around providing learners with feedback on pronunciation. 9. Learners are given a handout with an oral information-gap task based on the information dealt with so far, in which they have to talk to several peers and gather information. 10. Teacher monitors learner’s work to help out and try to minimize the use of the native language. 11. Learners are called on to share some of the data collected with the rest of the class. Sample Lesson Plan 12. Teacher explains some of the grammar in the unit and asks them to do a written exercise (in the textbook) on that, either individually or in pairs. 13. Teacher corrects exercise orally. 14. Teacher brainstorms following topic on the board, eliciting information from learners. 15. Teacher gives learners strips of paper with parts of an authentic reading excerpt related to the topic of the book unit and asks them to, in groups, put the pieces together. Sample Lesson Plan 16. Learners are then asked to devise comprehension questions about the reading to be assigned to other groups. Teacher monitors learners work to help out and to try to minimize the use the native language. 17. Groups get the questions devised by the other groups and answer them. Questions are then returned to the groups that initially devised them for correction. 18. Teacher visits groups to check their corrections. 19. Teacher assigns a piece of writing related to the work done in class. Principles 1. Scaffolding – a supporting framework 2. Task Dependency – tasks are link together and step-by-step 3. Recycling – must be reintroduced to the items 4. Active Learning – learners learn best through doing 5. Integration – relationship between form and meaning 6. Reproduction to Creation – to reproduce the language models provided 7. Reflection – opportunities to look back on what they have learned and think about how they are doing Reference Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. S. (2014). Approaches and methods in language teaching (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press. Thank you! Kristel C. Suelto