Alternative Approaches and Methods

Approaches/Methods
Multiple Intelligences (MI)
Neurolinguistic Programming
The Lexical Approach
Competency-Based Language Teaching

Multiple Intelligences (MI)
Howard Gardner (1985)
Argued against traditional concept of intelligence (IQ) which believes intelligence is a single, unchanged ability we are born with
Human intelligence has many dimensions
All intelligences can be enhanced through training
Teaching is most successful when learner difference are acknowledged and accommodated in teaching

Multiple Intelligences
Gardner proposed 8 intelligences:
Linguistic – ability to use language in special/creative ways (lawyers, writers, interpreters)
Logical/Mathematical – ability to think rationally (doctors, engineers, scientists)
Spatial – ability to form mental models of the world (architects, decorators, artists)
Musical – a good ear for music (singers, composers)

Multiple Intelligences
Bodily/Kinesthetic – being well-coordinated (athlets, craftspersons)
Interpersonal – ability to work well with others (salespeople, politicians, teachers)
Intrapersonal – ability to understand oneself
Naturalist – ability to understand and organize the patterns of nature

Theory of Language and Learning
(IM)
Language encompasses all aspects of communication – not just linguistics
Multisensory
Learning involves the whole person

Design
(IM)
Objective: ??
Curriculum: Not prescriptive, but there are 4 stages
Activities: project work, varied work in cycles
Learner Roles: Student, Personality Developer
Teacher Roles: Curriculum developer, lesson designer and analyst, activity finder or inventor, orchestrator of multiple activities.
Not just a language teacher, but a contributor to the development of the students' intelligences.
Materials: Unlimited, and varies on the activity

Procedure
(IM)
Varies, but Christison (1997) described 4 basic stages:
Awaken the Intelligence
Amplify the Intelligence
Teach with/for the Intelligence
Transfer of Intelligence

Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP)
John Grinder & Richard Bandler (1970s)
Not developed with language teaching in mind
The focus is on one's sense of self-actualization and self-awareness

Theory of Language and Language Learning
(NLP)
Neuro – Beliefs about the brain and how it functions or how we experience the world through our 5 senses
Linguistic – theory of communication (verbal/nonverbal) including functional, interactional and psycholinguistic view of language
Programming – Observable pattern of thought and behavior with a focus on the positive

Design
(NLP)
4 key principles for NLP:
Outcomes: The goal or ends. Knowing what you want helps you achieve it.
Rapport: Maximizing similarities and minimizing differences between people at the nonconscious level - “Establish rapport with yourself and then with others”
Sensory Acuity: Noticing what another person is communicating, consciously and nonverbally. - “Use your senses. Look at, listen to and feel what is actually happening.”
Flexibility: Doing things differently if what you are doing is not working. - “Keep changing what you do until you get what you want.”

Design
(NLP)
13 presuppositions that guide the application of NLP regardless of the method the teacher is using:
Mind and body are interconnected: Each affects the other
The map is not the territory: We all have different maps of the world.
There is no failure, only feedback... and a renewed opportunity for success
The map becomes the territory: What you believe to be true either is true or becomes true.
Knowing what you want helps you get it

Design
(NLP)
The resources we need are within us.
Communication is nonverbal as well as verbal
The nonconscious mind is benevolent
Communication is nonconscious and conscious
All behavior has a positive intention
The meaning of my communication is the response I get
Modeling excellent behavior leads to excellence
In any system, the element with the greatest flexibility will have the most influence on that system.

Procedure
(NLP)
Guided fantasy to help students be aware of a grammatical structure
Students relax, close their eyes and “go inside.” Once inside they listen to a teacher-produced fantasy.
After listening, students are asked to describe how they are feeling
Ask student to describe the cause of the way they feel
Put a poster on the wall with the sentence “I have eaten a biscuit”
Students write on the posters how they feel in each situation.

The Lexical Approach
Based on the belief that lexis is the foundation for learning a language
Grammar is not central
Lexical “chunks” or formulaic speech is practiced
Language is not created; it is reproduced.

Theory of Language and
Language Learning (Lexical Approach)
Language is not created; it is reproduced.
Prepackaged phrases
Massive amounts of “language input” is necessary (Krashen)
Language production is the result of previously met examples, not formal rules
Contrastive Analysis
Concentration on items which have no direct equivalence in L1 (Bahns, 1993)

Design
(Lexical Approach)
Objective: Varies
Curriculum: Word frequency determines the content of the course. “The 700 most frequent words of English account for around 70% of all English text” (Willis, 1990)
Activities: Vocabulary teaching activities, Corpus Analysis
Learner Roles: Discoverer, Data/Discourse Analyst
Teacher Roles: Model, Organizer of the technological system, Provider of scaffolding
Materials: Texts, tapes, Online Corpora

Procedure
(Lexical Approach)
The procedure varies depending on materials used.
Draw the students' attention to lexical collocations
Enable learner to discover collocations themselves
“Not only should they notice common collocations in the texts they meet, but more importantly, they should sect those collocations which are crucial to their particular needs” (Woolard, 2000).

Competency-Based Learning
1970s - Present
An educational movement that focused on the outcomes or outputs of learning as opposed to the inputs.
Basis for work-related and survival-orientated language programs
Closely related to the “standards” movement in teaching in the USA

Theory of Language and Learning
(CBLT)
Functional view – Language form can be inferred from language function
Interactional view – Language is always a medium of interaction and communication between people
Mosaic approach to learning – The “whole” is constructed of smaller parts

Design
(CBLT)
Objective: Competency
Curriculum: based on a list of competencies
Activities: Real-world tasks designed to achieve a certain competence
Learner Roles: “the learner knows exactly what needs to be learned” and decides if it is relevant to him/her
Teacher Roles: “Cognitive Guide” - provide positive/constructive feedback and give clear orders/explanations
Materials: sample texts and assessment tasks that provide examples of texts and assessment tasks that relate to the competency

Key Features
(CBLT)
8 key features (Auerbach, 1986)
Focus on successful functioning in society – Enable students to become autonomous
Focus on life skills – Language is taught as a function of communication
Task- or performance-centered orientation – What can student do as a result of instruction.
Modularized instruction – “Language learning is broken down into manageable and immediately meaningful chunks” (Center for Applied Linguistics, 1983).

Key Features
(CBLT)
Outcomes are made explicit a priori – Outcomes are public knowledge and agreed upon by both learner and teacher.
Continuous and ongoing assessment – Pretested and post-tested. Students do not move on until they have mastered the skill.
Demonstrated mastery of performance objectives – Rather than traditional tests, students are assessed based on the ability to demonstrate desired behaviors.
Individualized, student-centered instruction – Objectives are defined in terms of individual needs. Instruction is not time-based.