cHAprER 2 A "Methodical" History of Language Teachíng 37

Activity Types Learner Roles Teacher Roles Roles of Materials

Dialogues and drills, rep-etition and memorization,pattern practice.

Organisms that can bedirected by skilledtraining techniques toproduce correctresponses.

Central and activeteacher-dom inatedmethod. Provides model,controls direction andpace.

Primari Iy teacher-oriented.Tapes and visuals, lan-guage lab often used.

Imperative drills to elicitphysical actions.

Listener and performer,Iittle influence over thecontent of learning.

Active and direct role;"the director of a stageplay" with students as

actors.

No basic text; materialsand media have animportant role later.lnitially voice, action, andgestures are sufficient.

Unique materials: col-ored rods, color-codedpronunciation and vocab-ulary charts.

No textbook, whichwould inhibit growth.Materials are developedas course progresses.

Materials come fromrealia rather than text-books. Primary aim is topromote comprehensionand communication.

Consists of texts, tapes,classroom fixtures, andmusic. Texts should haveforce, literary quality, andi nteresting characters.

Learner responses tocommands, questions/and visual cues. Activi-ties encourage and shapeoral responses withoutgrammatical explanationor modeling by teacher.

Combination of innova-tive and conventional.Translation, group work,recording, transcription,ref lection and observa-tion, listening, freeconversation.

Activities allowing com-prehensible input, aboutthings in the here-and-now. Focus on meaning,not form.

Learning is a process ofpersonal growth. Learnersare responsible for theirown learning and mustdevelop independence,autonomy, and responsi-bi lity.

Learners are members ofa community. Learning is'not viewed as an indi-vidual accomplishment,but something that isach ieved col laboratively.

Should not try to Iearnlanguage in the usualsense, but should try tolose themselves in activi-ties involving meaningfulcommunication.

Teachers must (a) teach(b) test (c) get out of theway. Remain impassive.Resist temptation tomodel, remodel, assist,direct, exhort.

Counsel i ng/parentalanalogy. Teacher pro-vides a safe environmentin which students canlearn and grow.

The teacher is the pri-mary source of compre-hensible input. Mustcreate positive low-anxiety climate. Mustchoose and orchestrate arich mixture of classroomactivities.

To create situations inwhich the learner is mostsuggestible and presentmaterial in a way mostlikely to encourage posi-tive reception and reten-tion. Must exude author-itv and confidence.

lnitiatives, question andanswer, role play, lis-tening exercises underdeep relaxation.

Must maintain a passivestate and allow the mate-rials to work on them(rather than vice versa).

Engage learners in com-munication; involveprocesses such asinformation sharing,negotiation of mean ing,and interaction.

Learner as negotiatoÍ/interactor, giving as wellas taking.

Facilitator of the communication process, partici-pants' tasl<s, and texts;needs analyst, counselor,process manager.

Primary role in promotingcommun icative languageuse; task-based materials;authentic.

36 IHAPTER 2 A "Methodical" History of Language Teaching

Table 2.1. An overview of methods (adapted from Nunan, 1989a)

SyllabusTheory of Learning ObjectivesTheory of Language

00

Language is a sYstem ofru le-governed structureshieraichically arranged.

Habit formation; skillsare learned more effec-

tively if oral precedeswritten; analogY, notanalysi s.

Control of structures ofsound, form, and order;mastery over symbols ofthe language; goal:native-speaker masterY

Craded syllabus ofphonology, morPhologY,¿nd svntax. Contrastiveanalysis.

';ü

E

+

F

Basicallv a structuralist, L2 learning is the same as Teach oral proficiencl' to

;;;;i ü"*d;;;? Ll learnin!; comprehen- produce learners who

lrñn,,roé ,ion beforó produt tion i' t ¿n communir ¿le unin'rorróuu6\' "imorinled"'lhrough c¿r- h¡bitedly and intelligibly

rying out cottañdt with native speakers'

(rightbrain functioni ng);

reduction of stress'

Processes of learning a Near-native fluency,.cor- Futitully,trtuttYlnl-..-,."iÁnJ Irnnrrn" ,rJ fun- re( I pronunci¿lion' basit lessons planned around

cl¿mentallv"diff"erenl lrom prat tical knowledge of tr¿mmdlr( dl llPm\ ¿no

ü i;;;; tt1*'ning ih" g',u*'.'-'u', of thé rz' ielated vocabularv ltems

L un int"lÉ.tu.l, cogni"- Lear"ner Iearns how to are introduced according

i# pt.*;tl;;inn¿?t t. learn a language to their grammatical

the music of the lan- comPlexitY'

guage, silent awareness/then active trial.

t)noil)ee is more than a Learninq involves the No specilic obiectire>. No set svllabus course

lil;:;i?;,:#".;;i:: - *üi" p%"án. ril' n \e¿r-n¿rive mdster) i\ progression i' ropir -

,

ir." ii i"""h"t in" *not" social protess ol grovrlh the goal b¿sed; le¿rners provide

üá,.r.",,rir[: educa- rrot.hltdlit "d"i"n- " the Lopics syllabus

[;;;' 'd"";ü;;;,;i' dence to self-direction emerges from learners'

and communicative nnd indup"nd"nt" intention and the

processes. teacher's reformulations'

The essence of language fhere are two ways of L2 Designed to give begin- Based on selection of

i; ;;;;;;;. v;."üirr,!, tanguage devetopmenr: . ners ánd inteimediaie communicative activities

;;, ;;;;.,; i, in" n"á,t ,r.?rliit"",;-.i"t",,"1 ¡earners basic commu- and ropics derived from;iir;;;";;' .¡[ffir;]::iil, :::#lliilil"j::ilil'""'

earnerneeds

cannot lead to acquisi- (oral/written); academic

tion. learning skills(oral/written)'

Rather conventional, Learning occurs through To deliver advanced con Ten unit courses con-

although memorization ,rlg"uün. when.le¿rñer' versation¿l ' ompelence ti:llli 3] '^i.Or0-Illd

;f ;h":" meaningrul ar|ln a deeplv r.laxed quicklv..l errners.rre ,. dialogues graded br

texts is recommended. iix". suroql" music is required to m¿ster prodi- vocabulary and Srammar

used lo induce lhis st¿te. giou: ltsl: ol \ocdbular)

:fli:,,i'jl:ilrJ the goar is

remoriz¿lion.

Sentence-based sYl labus

with grammatical andlerical criteria being Pri-mary, but focus onmeaning, not torm.

Each language is com-oosed of elements that

iive it a unique rhYthm

ánd spirit. Functionalvocabulary and corestructure are keY to thespirit of the language.

bo

>F

trboaj\)bo

{U

o

zq)

oqbs

:o lanq.u¿ge is ¿ slstem for Doing atlivilies lhal Objecrive' will rellect,the

o, É rhe Éxn"rersion óf inrolve re¿l communit ¿- needs of the learner: lher

¡ F ;;;i;n, ;ri."ry func- tion, carrying our mean- will include functional

.q * tion--¡n%i-act¡on'and ingful tasi<s, ánd using skills as well as Iinguistic

S H. communication lañguage which is mean- objectives'

F ü ingful.to the learner Pro-

S 5 mole learnins@9**!@

Will include some/all ofthe fol lowing: structures,functions, notions,themes, tasks. Orderingwill be guided bY learnerneeds.