Lecturer: M.Pirdavari

In this power point presentation we explore some of the methods and ideas that have influenced the way we teach English. These include:

The Grammar-Translation Method The Direct Method Audio Lingualism Communicative Language Teaching Task -Based Learning

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We are now going to look at the details of the methds in terms of their history,their main features,and the current influences they have on teaching and learning.

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The GTM was developed in the 18th century and was introduced as a way of

teaching modern laguages to school children. The method itself came

from the way individual learners studied classical languages such as Greek

and Latin. This was done mainly by studying the grammar in detail and

translating texts from the original into the learner’s native language.

The GTM dominated European and foreign language teaching from the 1840s

to the 1940s,and in modified form it continues to be widely used in some

parts of the world today.

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Sentences and longer texts are translated both to and from the learner’s first

language. Reading and writing are the major focus; little or no attention is paid

to the ability to speak or communicate. Long lists of words are commonly

memorised without being used in a sentence. Grammar rules are given a lot of

attention,especially word endings and sentence formation. The teacher does Not

have to be able to speak the target language in order to teach.

According to GTM, the goal of foreign language study is to learn a language in

order to read its literature.

Vocabulary selection is based solely on the reading texts used, and words are

taught through bilingual word lists, dictionary study and memorisation.

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The sentence is the basic unit of teaching and language practise.

Accuracy is emphasised.

Grammar is taught deductively-that is, by presentation and study of

grammar rules, which are then practised through translation exercises.

The students’ native language is the medium of instruction.

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Grammar translation is still used to some extent in more traditional schools(Iran as

such). Here ae some problems that can occur:

Learners learn about the language, rather than HOW to use the language.

Learners do not get much opportunity to develop listening and speaking skills.

Vocabulary is made more difficult to use because it is usually taught in isolated

lists.

Using correct grammar is given more emphasis than being able to communicate

with someone.

The attention given to grammatical accuracy and translation may be

demotivating for some learners.

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There are some advantages : most language learners translate in their

heads at various stages anyway,and they(and we) can learn alot about a

foreign language by comparing parts of it with parts of our own mother

tongue. However, atotal concentration on grammar-translation stops

students from getting the kind of natural language input that will help

them aquire language ( since they are always looking at L1 equivalents),

and it fails to give them opportunities to activate their language

knowledge.

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The Direct Method was developed in the early 20th century in order to overcome the problems connected with grammar- translation.

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The direct Method moved away from translation and introduced the idea of lessons being conducted only in the target language. The meaning of words and structures was communicated directly through mime and gestures, and practised in question-and-answer exchanges between the teacher and learners. Learners were not taught grammar rules But worked them out for themselves.

In practise it stood for following principles and procedures: Classroom instruction was conducted exclusively in the target

language. Only every day vocabulary and sentences were taught. Grammar was taught inductively. New teaching points were introduced orally. Concrete vocabulary was taught through demonstration, objects and

pictures; abstract vocabulary was taught by association of ideas. Both speech and listening comprehension were taught. Correct pronunciation and grammar were emphasised.

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The principles discussed are seen in the following guidlines for teaching oral language, which are still followed in some contemporary schools of language and language institutes.

– Never translate: demonstrate

– Never explain: act

– Never make a speech: ask questions

– Never immitate mistakes: correct

– Never speak with single words: use sentences

– Never speak too much: make students speak much

– Never use the book: use your lesson plan

– Never jump around: follow your plan

– Never go too fast: keep the pace of the student

– Never speak too slowly: speak normally

– Never speak too quickly: speak naturally

– Never speak too loudly: speak naturally

– Never be impatient: take it easy

(cited in Titone 1968:100-101)

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The Direct Method was quite successful in private language schools where the use of native-speaking teachers was the norm.

But it was difficult to implement in public socondary school education. It overemphasised and distorted the similarities and between naturalistic first language learning and classroom foreign language learning and failed to consider the practical realities of the class room. It required teachers who were native speakers or had nativelike fluency in the foreign language. It was largely dependent on the teacher’s skill rather than on a text book , and not All teachers were proficient enough in the foreign language.

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The Direct Method was an important step forward-the use of the target language as the language of instruction underpins alot of today’s teaching.

It was developed from the 1920s onwards into a more sophisticated method called Situational Language Teaching.

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Audio lingualism was developed in the1950s and 1960s when it was believed that learning a language was similar to learning new habits. Language was described in terms of the way it was structured- individual sounds and letters,word structures and sentence types. Learners were expected to learn the grammar of the new language not by learning rules but by producing the language accurately by responding to stimuli. These stimuli were prompts which would lead the learner to produce particular sentences. Speaking and listening were seen as the basis of language learning with reading and writing coming later.

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A common feature of the audiolingual class was the drill. A drill was an activity where the teacher provided prompts and the learners would produce a sentence using the appropriate grammatical structure,for example:

TEACHER [holding up a picture of a post office]Where’s Mary going? LEARNER She’s going to the post office. Here are some features of a typical lesson: • Lessons often began with dialogues. • The emphasis was on the form (or structure) of language rather than on

content and meaning. • Grammatical structures were taught in a particular order –structures

which were thought to be simpler were introduced before more complicated ones.

• Correct pronunciation was strongly encouraged from the begining. • Vocabulary was severly limited in the early stages. • The teacher made a great effort to prevent errors. • Drills were the main way new language was practised.

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Some language teachers find drills useful for practising sentence patterns. They can be especially valuable in getting elementary learners to build their confidence in speaking. However,nowadays the usfulness of drills is regarded as limited in that they do not give the learners an opportunity to interact naturally with other speakers.

However,despite being discredited as an effective teaching methodology in 1970, audio-lingualism continues to be used today, although it is typically not used as the foundation of a course, but rather, has been relegated to use in individual lessons. As it continues to be used, it also continues to gain criticism, as Jeremy Harmer notes, “Audio-lingual methodology seems to banish all forms of language processing that help students sort out new language information in their own minds.” As this type of lesson is very teacher centered, it is a popular methodology for both teachers and students, perhaps for several reasons but in particular, because the input and output is restricted and both parties know what to expect.

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Communicative language teaching(CLT) started in the late 1960s and continues to evolve. It is not actually a method but an approach to teaching based on the view that learning a language means learning how to communicate effectively in the world outside the classroom. It developed mainly as a reaction to the limitations of previous methods which put little, if any, emphasis on the ability to communicate or interact. It was also influenced by developments in the way the language was described-taking into account the communicative function of language, i.e. that we use language to do things like suggest,invite agree, request,criticise,predict,and so on.

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Here are some of the main features of CLT: • The goal is to learn to communicate in the target language.

• There is an emphasis on meaning and using the language rather than on the structure and form of the language.

• Oral and written activities may be used from the start,for example, role plays,dialogues,games and problem-solving.

• One role for the teacher is that of a ‘facilitator’ who helps learners to communicate in English and motivates them to work with the language.

• Learners often interact with eachother through pair or group work.

• The four skills are developed simultaneously.

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Many CLT classrooms use a presentatio-practice-production or PPP model for teaching. The teacher first ’presents’ the new language,possibly by playing a recorded dialogue or getting the learners to read a written text. Then the learners ‘practise’ the new language in a controlled way ,posiibly by completing written exercises using the new language or in controlled pair work practising similar dialogues. Finally ,the learners ‘produce’ the language in a freer activity that allows them to communicate,hopefully using the language they have just studied.

Role playing is a common feature of the CLT classroom and involves the learners acting as someone else, for example a costumer, a ticket sales person, etc. in a situation where they need to use English, for example, to order a meal or to buy tickets at a railway station.

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CLT is very widely used in language teaching all over the world. It has shifted the focus in language teaching from learning about the language to learning to communicate in the language. However, there are problems associated with CLT:

• The emphasis on pair and group work can creat some problems in some classes. Some learners,particularly adults , think it is a waste of time talking to other L2 speakers rather than a native-speaker teacher.

• Native-speaker teachers do not need to know much about the language in order to become teachers.

• The approach can lead to too much emphasis on speaking and listening.

• Dividing the language up into discrete units under the headings of ‘ vocabulary’, ‘grammar’, and ‘functions’, and the four skills is misleading. Communication involves using all these elements simultaneously.

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Task-Based Learning(TBL) focuses on the process of communicating by setting learners tasks to complete using the target language. During this process , it is claimed, the learners aquire language as they try to express themselves and understand others. The tasks can range from information gap to problem-solving tasks. One advantage of TBL is that learners are given the opportunity to use the full range of skills and language they have at the same time,rather than in discrete units, as they sometimes do with the CLT method.

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A typical task sequence may include:

- Pre-tasks: these are activities which prepare learners to complete a task, for example, by guiding learners through an example of the task they will have to do. There can be a number of pre-tasks in one lesson.

- Tasks: these form the main body of the lesson and can involve a number of steps. For example, learners working in pairs or groups, may first complete the task, then prepare a report on the task, and finally present the report to the class.

- Post-tasks: these move away from activities desigend to promote fluency

to those designed to promote accuracy.

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There are, however, several uncertainties regarding TBL. What language the larners aquire depends on how the task is performed, so it is difficult to state what language will be learnt,if any-the learners may avoid learning or using new language and make do with the language they have. Learners may also feel that they are not ‘learning’ or ‘being taught’ as there is no formal input or practise stage. As with CLT, some learners fell that interacting with l2 speakers rather than the teacher is a waste of time.

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The graphic shows the relationship between the metacognitive strategies and Task-based learning strategies. A learner is at the center, and after realizing his goal for a task, decides to use a strategic, problem-solving approach to complete it. At various stages of the task he may use any of the metacognitive strategies, planning, monitoring, managing and evaluating. The categories surrounding the outer circle refer to the lists of strategies from which the learner can choose: What You Know, Your Imagination, Organizational Skills, Variety of Resources.

Setting a goal for learning is one of the general learning strategies known as Metacognitive strategies. The result of goal setting, reflecting upon your own thinking and learning, is metacognitive thinking. We list four general metacognitive strategies:

Organize/Plan Your Own Learning

Manage Your Own Learning

Monitor Your Own Learning

Evaluate Your Own Learning

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Sometimes it is easier understand what works by analyzing what doesn't work. For example, a communicative task that leads to little or no real communication is often simply poorly-designed. In this part, we will look at three tasks that fail largely because they violate principles of good design.

Consider the following example task: Teacher: "What do you all think about the current situation in Gaza? Do you

think that Israel has the right to invade Gaza? Are you in support of Israel's action? Is it self-defense?"

[Silence...] Teacher: "Well, do you think that Hamas has the right to bomb Israel?" [Silence...] Teacher: "Uhm, does anybody listen to the news?" [A few heads nod.] Teacher: "OK, but you don't have an opinion?" [Silence...]

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Consider the following example task: The teacher put the students in small groups of four. Next,

she gave each group a handful of cards with questions on the cards. Finally, she told them to take turns discussing the following questions:

What kind of music do you like? What kind of music do your parents like? What kind of music do your grandparents like? The teacher was surprised when the room grew quiet after

a minute or two. Why didn't the students "discuss" the questions?

points."

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Consider the example following task: The teacher gave the students a paper with a paragraph

that was to serve as the springboard for discussion: "I want you to read the paragraph. Circle words you don't

know and underline grammatical structures that we've studied in this chapter. After that, find a person in the room who you haven't worked with before. Work together to understand the paragraph. Next, find another partner to discuss the paragraph. You are going to write two statements on the board. One statement agrees with the content of the paragraph and the other contradicts the paragraph. Make sure to include as many circled words and underlined grammar

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• Approach

people use the term approach to refer to theories about the nature of

language and language learning which are the source of the way things are done in the classroom and which provide the reasons for doing them. An approach describes how language is used and how its constituent parts interlock- it offers a model of language competence. An approach describes how people aquie their knowledge of the language and makes statements about the conditions which will promote successful langiage learning.

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• Method A method is the practical realisation of an approach. The originators

of a method have arrived at decisions about type of activities,roles of teachers and learners,the kinds of material which will be helpful and some model of syllabus organisation. Methods include various procedures and techniques as part of their standard fare.

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